Absence
by xx-crispy-mnms-lover-xx
Summary: A year ago she was ripped from his life and presumed dead. They were all forced to move on with their lives. What if she's not dead? Eventual Chuck/Sarah. Complete!
1. Prologue

**Absence. **

**Summary: One year ago she was ripped from his and presumed dead they were all forced to move on with their lives. Piecing together the shattered hearts wasn't easy, and she's back. Eventual Chuck/Sarah.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

**Set after the season 3 finale.**

**So I'm back writing, it's summer, really hot yet still raining and currently 1:11 ( a little freaky I know!) in the morning. Nothing like a bit of fanfic to help reign in the anger that guys seem to cause! My new story's not got a beta (anyone interested? :L) so all the mistakes are mine. I'm not very good at English with little patience, a mix that seems to cause bad spelling a****nd grammar. Enjoy...**

**RIGHT! so this was reposted as people weren't getting the idea that IT WAS NOT SARAH'S CHOICE TO LEAVE! She wasn't disappearing off for a mission or seducing a mark for a year to just fan back into Chuck's life right as rain! Now i've sorted that out, please feel free to review :)**

**Prologue.**

_2010 June 19__th__ – Burbank._

"Marry me?"

Sarah Walker's neck snapped round to look into the very serious eyes of the man whose arms she was currently laid in.

"What?" She asked confusion and alarm evident in her usually controlled voice.

"You heard me, marry me?" Chuck asked again, pulling her closer to him on the sandy beach that they had come to think of as their own. "I had it all planned out. I was going to take you to a fancy dinner and then a walk along a beach, the water running over our toes. I wanted it to be perfect. But this moment, right now, is perfect. Or at least as close to perfect as possible." Chuck took a breath, looking deep into her blue orbs. "You once asked me to trust you, right here in this spot and Sarah Walker, I trust you more than anyone else in the world and I'm so in love with you. That's never going to change." Chuck reached into his messenger back than he'd brought with him.

"Wait, you carry this ring around?" Sarah asked, suddenly drawn away from his words.

"Babe, you're a CIA agent, you'd find it in a heartbeat and I'm not about to trust Morgan with it. This ring was my Grandmother's and then my Great Grandmother's before that! If he lost it Ellie would actually skin him alive." Chuck laughed, pulling out a box and opening, "So I'm asking you, Sarah Walker, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

"Yes." Sarah answered without thinking.

All the issues, the complications, could wait. She'd already agreed with Beckman that her and Casey's final mission would be their next before she would be relieved of her contract. She was actually going to start a normal, happy life with Chuck. Well as normal as could possibly be between the two of them.

"I love you." Chuck told her, unable to keep a wide grin of his face, "Sarah Bartowski, has a nice feel to it."

"Excuse me? Who say's I'm taking your name?" She teased, admiring the ring on her finger. It was a classic diamond solitaire cut with three smaller, round cut diamonds on each side set in a platinum ring, "It's amazing." She said dreamily.

"My Great-Grandfather on my Mum's side proposed to my Great-Grandmother a few seconds before he was shipped out for WW2. She was already pregnant with my Granddad and when he didn't come home she eventually gave him the ring, to give to the woman he loved. They only had a daughter though, my mother, so when I was born and my Grandma was ill, she gave me the ring and told me to give it to the woman who was the love of my life." Chuck grinned at Sarah, "I guess I just did that."

"Wow." Sarah breathed, placing a tender kiss on Chuck's jaw line and sinking further into his embrace as they watched the sea ripple.

"She would have loved you." Chuck told her confidently, "She always loved strong woman, said I needed to marry someone who's tough on the outside but a softie inside."

"If she's anything like her grandson then I'm pretty sure I'd have liked her too." Sarah said quietly.

"What time do you leave tonight?" Chuck asked, suddenly sobering the mood.

"Six. It's a simple one Chuck. Nothing to worry about." Sarah's smiled showed that she too believed that, a simple last mission to finish a record perfect career.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Ellie was waiting for them when she got back, her senses immediately alerting her to the change in their relationship, "What's going on?" She asked, half curious and half suspicious.

"Hey guys." Morgan wandered past them before stopping next to watch the encounter, "What's up?"

"We're engaged!" Chuck exclaimed happily.

"Yay!" Ellie's squeal was sound loud and high pitched that the three victims closest to the noise had to cover their ears, "That's great!"

"Everything ok!" Devon and Casey had come running out of their respective apartments at the commotion.

"Chuck and Sarah are engaged!" Ellie squealed again.

"Congrats Walker." Casey grunted, clapping them both over their shoulders in a way that was to Casey what an excited bear hug would be to most others.

"I'm so happy for the two of you!" Ellie jumped over to them and pulled them into an example of an excited bear hug.

"Babe, I think they need to breath!" Devon cut in smoothly, prying his wife off the newly engaged couple, "Dudes, this is awesome!" He high fived Chuck and pulled him into a hug before giving Sarah a hug, lifting her off the ground slightly.

"Nice work man." Morgan hugged Chuck, "Nice work indeed." Morgan then went to hug Sarah, who let the little bearded gnome wrap his arms around her for slightly longer than necessary before Chuck coughed loudly.

"Alright alright." Morgan mumbled, letting the blonde go and taking a few steps back.

"Engagement party, tonight!" Ellie said happily.

"I can't." Sarah looked down sadly, knowing that they were now touching a very uncomfortable topic of her actual job and all that fell into that category, "I have to work."

"This weekend then?" Ellie asked, noticeably stiffer.

"Sure." Sarah smiled.

"Well congrats guys!" Devon beamed, pulling Ellie into their apartment and letting the others go into theirs. Chuck however was watching Ellie with an odd expression on his face.

"I need to pack." Sarah told him, kissing his cheek before disappearing into their bedroom.

"I'll be right back." Chuck told Morgan, walking across the courtyard and into Devon and Ellie's apartment.

"She's quitting, quitted in fact. Tonight's her last mission." Chuck told Ellie.

"That's great Chuck." Ellie smiled.

"What's wrong then?" Chuck asked, "Because I know that you still haven't forgiven her. You've forgiven me but not her and I would really want to know why because she's going to need you."

"Chuck I know you, and even though you've changed over the last three years, you're still Chuck. But she's someone I was convinced I knew like a sister, I thought of her as one, a sister, as part of the family and it turns out I know nothing about her." Ellie said, slightly angrily.

"That's not true." Chuck protested, "Yes we lied and yes you may not know everything about Sarah but neither do I. I know what I need to know and I know who she is now. That's all I need to know. You know who she is as a person. She simply smudged the details."

"I love Sarah, I do and I'm happy for you guys but it's going to take time before I see her as a sister again." Ellie told him finally, a little sadly.

"Please, for me, forgive her." Chuck asked, pleading Ellie with his eyes before turning to leave the apartment, "That excitement you just had. Either you're the best liar in the world or a part of you is truly happy for us, if you are then you should forgive her."

Six o'clock came around far too quickly for Chuck's liking and soon Sarah was throwing her bag into the boot of Casey's Crown Vic. Dressed in her usual attire she re-entered their apartment, leaning against the doorframe and surveying the scene fondly. Morgan was cooking something, she wasn't sure what it was but it smelt good, good enough to make her stomach rumble slightly. Chuck however was sat on the table with his back to the door, working on something.

"Hey." She whispered, wrapping her arms around him from the back and placing a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"Hey, are you leaving already?" He asked, looking up from his laptop to turn in his seat and face her, a look of worry in his beautiful chocolate eyes.

"Yeah." Sarah nodded, "Casey wants to get on the road."

"Am I allowed any information?" Chuck asked.

"There's someone who we believe may be funding a domestic terrorist plot." Sarah told him, "I also looked into those groups we found connected to your mum, I'm sorry but all my databases and spy work came up empty."

"It's ok." Chuck sighed, "I wish you didn't have to go."

"Me too, but hey, this is the last time remember." Sarah smiled softly.

"I know." Chuck smiled, standing up and drawing Sarah into a tender hug, "Love you."

"Love you more." Sarah said, however she took off her ring, "Keep it safe for me."

"You're not going to wear it?" Chuck asked, slightly hurt.

"If I lost it I'd never forgive myself." Sarah told him, "Just keep it until I get back, that way I know my hearts it's in the safest hands possible."

"A little cheesy for Sarah Walker." Chuck teased, "Where's that badass spy gone?"

"I'll give you badass." She mumbled, poking Chuck in the side playfully before turning serious once again, "I have to go, see you in a few days."

"I'll hold you to that." Chuck teased slightly.

"Bi Sarah!" Morgan called from the kitchen.

"Bi Morgan." She smiled at the man, "Try not to get him in too much trouble."

"Me...never!" Morgan said innocently, his eyes already twinkling.

"Oh dear lord." Sarah mumbled as she left the apartment.

Just as she was leaving the apartment she saw Ellie doing the same, a bag slung over her shoulder that made it obvious to Sarah she was heading out for her shift.

"Hey." Sarah smiled slightly as they headed over to their respective cars.

"Hey." Ellie smiled.

"You know I love him, right?" Sarah asked bluntly.

"Yeah, I think so." Ellie nodded.

"I do, and I'm quitting everything I've ever known for him, for the life I want with him. That's a massive deal to me. So I love him, more than anything else." Sarah clarified.

"Ok." Ellie nodded.

"See you later." Sarah opened the passenger door of Casey's car and slid in.

"Ready to go out with a bang?" Casey asked, a small smirk playing across his features.

"Always." Sarah grinned, pulling on her sunglasses and effortlessly slipping into Agent Sarah Walker mode.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

_2010 June 24__th__ – Burbank._

John Casey was not usually a nervous man.

He'd fought of armies of enemy soldiers. Looked death in the eye a countless amount of times. He was as tough as they came. However something about the door of Chuck Bartowski's apartment suddenly terrified him. Was it because it would make it all real? The cold hard truth would suddenly become inescapable.

"Hey John, when did you get back?" Ellie asked, surprised to see him loitering outside Chuck's apartment.

"Just now." Casey mumbled in a tone that was defiantly not his usually confident, testy grunt.

"Casey, hey." Chuck had pulled open the door at that moment, surprised to see a nervous looking John Casey, something he was convinced was a miracle and a slightly confused Ellie, "What's going on, where's Sarah?" He asked lightly.

"Chuck..." Casey started, at a loss for words, letting his pained expression rip apart the dreams and hopes of the man standing in front of him.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

**So this was the introduction to my new story, setting up how Chuck and Sarah are finally happy and complete-ish.**

**I'm mean so it obviously won't stay that way.**

**MWAHAHA!**

**Though also am a sucker for happy endings.**

**Most of the time :P**

**Please review, tell me what you think and if you want more.**

**If so, there shall be more.**

**But for now, adios. **


	2. Chapter 1

**A massive thanks to ArmySFC for all your help with spitballing ideas!**

**Also thanks to all those who reviewed.**

**This IS NOT a story where Sarah goes off for a year to seduce marks ect. She had no choice in the way she was taken! She's been there ever since. I know it's highly improbable that a group of baddies would kidnap someone for a year without killing them but...indulge me :)**

**So if you're still reading this, voila!**

**Chapter 1.**

_One year later..._

_2011 July 11th – Marine Corps Base, Quantico._

John Casey watched as the new Marine recruits struggled through the almost impossible obstacle course, a hard look on his quickly aged face. He was known as the hardest mentor in the hole of the Marine base, passing only the best and repeatedly failing those until they either quit or became the best, sorting out the true soldiers from the rest. Men that had been trained and passed by him had automatic respect in the society of the Marines and government espionage. There were only two people who knew the extent in which the kidnap and disappearance of his old partner, Sarah Walker, had really affected him, one being Sarah's boyfriend, Chuck, and the other being his daughter, Alex, who had been there for him through the whole thing. Since the disaster of the last mission he'd taken a position training the new troupes, something that didn't require a partner or the trust that was required.

"Speed it up!" Casey shouted above the rain that was pounding down, "Work harder ladies! This isn't brownies! My daughter has a better shot than you girls!"

"Your daughter's Alex McHugh! She's like a legend here." One of the men panted out, slipping slightly in the mud.

"That's right! Now move it!" Casey smiled proudly at the thought of his daughter, an FBI homicide detective, one of the best young recruits after just a few months out of graduating Quantico herself.

To say that he blamed himself for what had happened to Sarah would not be a lie. From the moment they arrived at the supposed meeting place where an information drop was scheduled to take place it was apparent they'd walked straight into a trap. Ambushed, over powered and knocked unconscious he'd been moved from harm by someone he presumed was Sarah. When he re awoke she was gone, the bodies of the injured and dead were scattered around him while the more able were looking for survivors. He spend hours driving around in his old Queen Vic trying to form the words to tell someone that he'd failed to protect the love of their life. He'd failed to protect his partner and one of the true friends he had.

There were no words to describe that. The guilt. The sense of failure. Depression.

In the end he hadn't needed any.

_2011 July 11th – Burbank Suburbs, CA._

Ellie Bartowski watched her husband gently move around their living room, bobbing up and down rhythmically to sooth the crying baby in his arms. It had been one hell of a long year for the Bartowski's, first their father is killed and next Chuck's girlfriend - fiancée, was presumed dead. The body had washed up six days after the disastrous mission, while there was nothing left that would give them a completely positive ID the rest of the criteria matched, face shape, bone structure, height, clothing and the clinching fact was the chipped bone on the victims collar bone, most likely from a bullet. Sarah had once been shot there. So while the CIA could not provide a 100% accurate ID, they were fairly certain the body was that of Sarah's and had therefore sealed her file as being presumed as most likely dead. That was all it took for the CIA to affectively turn its backs on someone who'd given their life to it and been their best agent.

At first she had been angry and hurt that they'd all lied to her, that she was the last to know about such a monumental thing in her own brothers life. But after Casey had come back from what was supposed to be their finale mission, for entirely different reasons, alone, she'd finally believed them that the reason they had lied to her was for her own safety. After all, Sarah, someone she'd thought could defeat anything, had been taken and she'd never see her again. Someone she loved like a younger sister, however angry or upset she was at the time, was gone, leaving her, Devon and Chuck in a state of shock and depression hard to climb out of. Since then he'd all but disappeared himself, making an oath that he'd catch the people who killed Sarah. Since then he had rejoined the CIA, forming a small task force of him, Sarah's friend Carina and Casey, who headed operations in D.C, who searched far and wide for the people who were responsible. She knew very little of their activities due to the declining frequency of Chuck's calls. Few and far between they were a rarity, he was blaming both himself and her for him not being there when she'd been taken. Killed.

"Hey, what you thinking about?" Devon asked, wrapping his arms around her waist as they looked out from the kitchen at apparently nothing. Devon had placed Steven Woodcomb in his crib now he'd stopped crying.

"It's been over a year since Sarah..." Ellie trailed off softly.

Devon looked at his wife in surprise, she would rarely talk about Sarah as it was such a sore subject, "I know babe, it's been a long year. First your dad, then Sarah and then Steven was born. But everything's getting better now. The scars are starting to heel."

"You're right," Ellie sighed, "I just miss her. If she, I dunno, it's not like I can blame her for being taken or anything, for dying but...I guess everything would be ok if she was still here. Chuck would be here, she'd still be at family dinners, and I'd still be able to come to her for advice or whatever. I just miss her." Ellie repeated before she looked away from Devon to hide her tears that were pooling in her eyes.

Devon simply sighed and dropped a kiss onto Ellie's forehead; there was nothing he could say to make this right.

Because it simply wasn't.

_2011 July 12th –Secret Facility, Unknown location._

"It's been a year and you still don't trust me. Unbelievable." Sarah muttered as she was escorted by the guards to a conference room.

To an unobservant outsider it would simple look as if she was walking to a meeting with a groups of people. However if you looked closer you saw the way two of the guards had their right hand concealed in their jackets. Hiding something. A gun. They could draw and shoot quicker than Sarah could take down all four of them. They knew she wouldn't. After all, what would she gain from it?

A gunshot wound.

Most likely in her leg, all pain and no real life threat.

No, Sarah Walker was smarter than that.

"Oh come on Walker, you know you've got the best poker face around." A guard, Jake, laughed actually smiling at Sarah, "For all we know, you're trying to gain our trust before stabbing us in the back."

"So, so cynical Jakey." Sarah sighed dramatically, pulling open the door to the conference room.

"Bout time." The man at the front muttered, "So CIA, how would you organise your teams on a protection detail?" He asked.

His name was David as far as Sarah knew and he was the director of The Fornax Group, not the leader, simply their main puppet. This was apparently their biggest location and division and while Sarah had been there for a year and been forced to assist with plenty of missions, she still had no clue where she was. It was a terrifying feeling, knowing that if she did escape, she could anywhere, any country, any place. Stranded.

"What's the situation?" Sarah asked, sitting down next to a brunette and rolling her eyes as they chained one of her ankles and one of her wrists to the chair.

"We've been contracted to take out the Belgium ambassador." He started.

"Who the hell puts a hit on the Belgium ambassador?" Sarah asked before she could stop herself, earning her a glare from David.

"We're getting good money. So, how do we go about getting around your little agents?" He asked Sarah, looking at the video feed that was currently coming in from a press conference in D.C.

"Can you maybe zoom in on the video?" Sarah asked, her well trained eyes scanning the area.

"Bartowski?" He asked harshly.

Mary Bartowski. Her fiancées mother. Long-lost mother to boot. It turned out that a year ago, when she and Casey had been chasing a lead on a domestic terrorist plot, she had previously stumbled past some security webs for a group called the Fornax Group. They were responsible for the kidnap of Mary Bartowski so many years ago once they'd learnt she was a double agent. The lead had been a trap to get Sarah away from Chuck in their attempt to find out exactly how much she knew. Since then they'd tried every tactic in the book in an attempt to get her to talk. She had. She had known little about the Fornax Group in the first place, only stumbling into it by accident so there had been little to talk about. They were however, intelligent, they knew that Sarah would say anything to make the pain stop after a while so the torture only lasted a couple of weeks. She'd been thrown into a cell like room after that, where she'd met Mary. The days dragged by, sometimes they'd feed her, others they'd just let her starve until she was too weak to put up any type of fight. Then they'd use her. Ask her questions. Want her unique skill set. The only way she was getting out of there was if she played ball. She gave them enough information to make them think she was cooperating while still trying to help save as many lives as possible. After a year it was all beginning to look a little bleak, whatever hope she'd once had was fading at an alarming rate.

"You'll lose picture quality but it's possible." She tapped some keys and the people in the room were closer, yet fuzzier.

"We've got a sniper in but it's getting out that's the problem." Sarah read off the file, "Have you got video feed from around the building?"

"Sure." Mary nodded and brought more video up, this time of outside on the busy New York City streets.

"Red car's CIA, Black car on street corners some sort of protection, security. They only way out's either foot or underground." Sarah clarified.

"How will he get away after he's taken the shot?" The man asked simply.

"Have you plans of the building?" Sarah asked.

"No underground routes out." Mary clarified.

"Your boy better be fast." Sarah stated, leaning back in her chair and matching the man's glare.

_2011 July 12__th__ – New York. _

"Move your damn foot out of my face for god's sake!" A voice hissed angrily, "Could you actually take up more space?"

"Happily." The second person bit back, stretching out.

"Why are we even here!" The redhead exploded quietly, her whisper carrying the venom in her words.

"Stop complaining Carina!" Chuck said quickly, rolling his eyes, "And because every other lead we've had has been a dead end, literally, thanks to you!"

"Oh, now it's a problem that I shot the man trying to kill you. I didn't exactly hear you complaining at the time!" Carina shot back, continuing to crawl through the tight ventilation space.

"Could you not of aimed for the leg, or even the arm. Hell anywhere that was a less major place than their brain!" Chuck stressed the last part as he turned to make out Carina's features in the darkness.

"Next time I'm just going to let them shoot your lanky arse." Carina muttered darkly, "Maybe then I'll finally get some peace and quiet."

"We've over the room." Chuck's voice had grown more focused and serious. He removed a panel and dropped effortlessly down into a storage cupboard before helping Carina down.

"So what was the tip again?" Carina asked, checking her gun was loaded as she scanned around the area, assessing for dangers.

"Someone's going to hit the Belgium ambassador." Chuck told her, checking his own supplies.

"Seriously? What the hell?" Carina scoffed slightly, "So what, we stop of we catch?"

"We attempt to stop and if not, we catch." Chuck clarified, loading his own gun with a reassuring click.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

**So that was the first 'proper' chap.**

**How's everybody liking this story?**

**Please tell me what you think!**

**I love reviews, they're like cookie dough, addictive and yummy!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Once again a massive thank you for the reviews,**

**I hope you all like this chapter!**

**This is going up a day early because I'm travelling all day Sunday ! :D**

**Chapter 2.**

_**2010**__ June 24__th__ – Secret Facility, Unknown Location._

"Sarah Walker. Recruited by the CIA at just 17, impressive." The man leading the meeting flicked through a few shots of Sarah on a mission, gun in her hand, focus in her eyes before switching to some of her and Chuck walking down the pier together, outside their apartment or going into Orange Orange. "Such a cute couple." He said dryly, "He looks like you."

The woman sat in the last chair raised her head slightly to survey the photo of her now grown up son. "I suppose he does." Her tone was as ice cold as the handcuffs binding her to the chair, removing any illusion that she was by there by choice.

"Anyway, our little CIA skirt has been inquiring into things she shouldn't, she breezed through our red flags a few weeks ago so we've had to deal with her as quickly as possible without raising suspicions. Find out what she knows before she blabs or at least finding out who exactly she's blabbed to. She's highly efficient so should be viewed as very dangerous to the secrecy of our group. She could potentially expose up." David Jones told the group.

"Kidnapping her won't make anyone suspicious." Mary said sarcastically, knowing better than to wind up the man before her but seemingly having no control over her actions. It was personal. This was too close to comfort. Her son's girlfriend. This would break him.

"As you know Mary, we're not amateurs. John Casey will awake from a blow to the head, hidden away in a mess, bodies everywhere. He will assume Walker was either taken by us for interrogation or taken out by us and her body taken so we could dispose of it. In a few days, depending on how quickly a suitable body arises, we'll drop a body into the local river, same clothes and possessions. The bone structure, height and facial shape will be too similar but the body will be far too decayed to be able to get a completely positive ID, however the CIA will ID it was Walker or at least presume her to be dead. Even your son will be convinced, so full of sadness." He looked down at her, his eye's narrowing to slits, "On the other hand, we're simply turning a blind eye on your son. Presuming, that like his father, he was just stupid enough to fall for a CIA agent and that's how he's gotten involved in this shit. I can easily change my mind. Bring him in for questions, see if his beautiful girlfriend told him anything." His voice held the threat.

"What do you want us to do boss?" A large, old army type like man asked a smile on his scarred face.

"What you do best. Find out what she knows. Just don't kill her, she may be useful."

_2011 July 12__th__ – New York, New York. _

"I cannot believe this." Carina muttered as they moved quietly and quickly from one room to another, staying out of the camera's watchful eye.

"What?" Chuck asked, slightly wearily.

"I'm an DEA agent for Christ's sake." She continued on, ignoring Chuck, "I should be out bringing down drug dealers not trying to stop the Belgium Ambassador being assassinated."

Chuck placed a hand to his lips quickly, silencing Carina as he pointed towards the room opposite them, it had a perfect view point of the stage where the Belgium Ambassador was currently addressing a group of delegates. Chuck pulled out a mask and covered his face, motioning for Carina to do the same. Next he signalled for her to get on the other side of the door. Chuck held up three fingers. Two fingers. One finger.

The door flew off its hinges.

"Freeze." Chuck trained his gun on the snipers head. The sniper held his hands up, looking around in shock and confusion.

"So genius, how exactly do we get him out of here?" Carina hissed, looking from the sniper to Chuck and then the amount of people in the room and the security camera's.

"Easy." Chuck shrugged, pulling out a separate gun and shooting him twice in the chest before looking up at the camera in the room and shooting it with his actual gun, "Get changed, we're going to walk out."

"What?" Carina asked, pulling off her mask and reaching into her rucksack to find a set of clothes that she hadn't put there.

"Our friend here had one too many." Chuck grinned, pulling a tie on that made him look like a waiter, "We're simply delivering him to his taxi."

"Jesus Christ." Carina mumbled, pulling on her own 'uniform' before exiting the room, the man supported between the two of them.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"What the hell's happening?" Dave asked angrily as the ambassador continued to make his speech. He should have been dead by now.

"The video feed from his room's gone dead. I can try and back trace it to retrieve the last few seconds." Mary mumbled, her hands flying across the keyboard, "It's gone, the video was a live feed, no recordings and this suggests that the camera itself was destroyed while the camera's around the corridor suffered from a technical glitch."

"What do you mean it's gone!" He roared.

"There is no video of what happened!" Sarah told him as if she was talking to a two year old.

"Shut your mouth Walker!" He seethed, "Do you have any idea how much money we're going to lose!"

"We?" Sarah scoffed angrily taunting the man purposefully, "We will lose nothing. You on the other hand are screwed!" She recoiled slightly when he strode towards her, backhanding her across the face.

"I said shut up!" He hissed.

"I'm not the one with the failed mission." Sarah's voice was acidic.

He raised his hand again and smacked her hard across the face again before grabbing her throat with malice in his eyes, "You really need to be more careful Walker if you want to live."

He let go of her throat and Sarah gasped out for air before looking up to meet his eyes, "What makes you think I want to live?" She gasped out, using the free hand she hand to massage her sore neck.

"Bolton!" He roared and the youngest and newest guard came scurrying in, "Take them back to their room."

"Yes sir." He nodded.

"This is not over." He seethed into Sarah's ear.

Her insides squirmed with fear.

_2011 July 13th – Casey's apartment, DC._

When Casey entered his one bedroom apartment on the Marine Corps Base in Quantico that night he knew immediately that someone had been in there. His gun was out of his holster in a matter of seconds as he moved slowly and stealthily through the apartment. As he rounded the corner into his living room he lowered his gun.

"Ever heard of a phone?" He asked gruffly, taking in the three people in his living room, one unconscious, "Who's that?"

"Stopped him trying to take out the Belgium Ambassador." Carina told Casey. "Seriously?" Casey asked, smirking.  
Chuck rolled his eyes, "It was a lead we got from the last one before Carina shot him."

"Saving your life." Carina butted in, "I swear you've a death wish or something." "Ladies." Casey cut Chuck off before he could retaliate, "What exactly do we know right now?" He asked them, trying to be the more sensible, organised member.

"Fuck all!" Carina burst, anger flooding out of her, "It's been a year! And what have we got to show for it? Nothing! A sniper trying to take out the Belgium Ambassador! What the hell has this got to do with Sarah? It's been one dead end after another. One useless clue to the next."

Casey and Chuck were silent, she was right. For a year they'd been chasing ghosts. "It's been over a year." She said, the anger ebbing out of her voice and being replaced with sadness and pain, "She was my best friend and this isn't bringing me closure anymore. I just want to be able to remember her without thinking about leads and murderers, clues and secrets. I'm so tired of dragging this nightmare out. I just want to move on."  
"Ok." Chuck sighed as he ran a hand through his slightly too long, dishevelled, curly hair., "I think we should see where this leads us personally, and after that, I won't stop you leaving." "As if you could anyway." Carina scoffed slightly, calmer, more focused, "Let's wake him up."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"Did you get it?" Sarah asked as soon as the door was slammed closed on the room they were kept in.

"Yeah," Mary nodded and took out the small electrical device she'd slipped onto her person while Sarah had angered David and distracted all his attention, "I don't know whether this will work though."

"It's at least worth a try, what've we got to lose." Sarah joked darkly, pulling out the device that they'd been building for some time and attaching the new part onto it. It was a very rough, improvised radio emitter that should send a signal to a certain point. "If the CIA still use the same radio frequency range then the message should go through."

"What about a more specific person, if we contact the CIA it will be weeks of analysing the message to assess the threat danger before they someone. Your old partner?" Mary suggested.

"Why can't we do both? You said there was only a small possibility that it will blow after one try." Sarah heard an angry voice from outside the room drawing closer, "Shit, hide it."

They fumbled with the improvised radio emitter as the door opened and three guards marched in, "What's that?" One of them asked as they saw the device and threw themselves forward, grabbing it and examining it, "It looks like some kind of radio transmitter!"

Both women looked at each other, horror in their eyes. Their last hope was in the hands of their enemy.

"Give it here." The youngest of the guards and the one from earlier, Jake, said before dropping it on the floor and smashing it to pieces, "Get rid of the pieces, there's no chance it will work again. It must have taken a while to make; we'll have to be more watchful."

"You're not going to tell him?" The tallest asked, Liam with caution and disbelief in his voice.

"Why? We're the ones that will get bollocked for somehow allowing them to have it." Keith, the other guard pointed out, siding with Liam.

"Exactly, it's gone." Jake pointed out, "This never happened." He told them all before taking Sarah's arm on the left.

"I'm sorry." Jake whispered into her ear so Keith who was escorting her on her right wouldn't hear him, before pushing her into another room. The remaining guard plunged a syringe into her arm.

Fuzz surrounded everything.

Fight it! The voice in Sarah's head screamed but even that was getting fainter.

Blackness.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"What do you want?" The man asked, the very faintest trace of a Russian accent in his words.

Chuck flashed on him, his voice triggering the flash. A number of separate aliases and files came up, all holding this man's photo. He was an assassin, favouring a sniper shot to kill most of his victims. He was born in Russia but has moved around the age of ten to a number of different locations, explaining his faint accent. He'd been born with the name Vitaly Pavlov.

"Who do you work for?" Carina asked, toying with the lighter in her hand.

"I'm freelance." He shrugged, "I have no allegiance to the idiots who hired me."

Casey growled. He preferred the ones that were loyal until the end, even if they were harder to break; it showed they were loyal to someone. Partners, teams, country, beliefs. Money however was dirty.

Money was for the cowards.

"Who are the idiots that hired you?" Chuck asked, watching the man with narrowed eyes.

"I want full immunity from whatever crimes I may be charged for." Vitaly told them smugly.

"Honey, we're not exactly on record here." Carina grinned, flicking the lighter open and now toying with the dancing flames.

"Honey, I've been doing this for over twenty years, do you really think you're the first group of hotheads to capture me? Whatever torture you're planning, I can resist it, or better yet feed you false information. When will you people learn?" He asked, mocking Carina.

"You're going to protect somebody you don't care about?" Chuck asked, raising his eyebrows, "That's a lot of pain for no gain."

He seemed to consider this for a second, "I can't go to jail." He finally told them.

"Well then, I'll do you a deal. You tell us everything and I'll drop you off at the nearest train station. I have no knowledge of any assassination. You didn't fire a shot, nobody is suspicious." Chuck told them man.

"How can I trust you?" He asked, narrowing his eyes as he looked into Chuck's own.

"I'm a man of my word. I won't hand you over if you tell us everything." Chuck told him.

"Chuck. Kitchen. Now." Casey grunted, grabbing Chuck and dragging him into the kitchen, Carina following behind them.

"What the hell?" Carina whispered angrily, "You can't just let him walk away, he's a wanted felon!"

"I'd rather find the people behind this rather than the thugs they hire." Chuck told them raising his eyebrows.

"We can't just drop him off at the nearest train station. It's against everything we stand for." Casey grunted.

"Fine!" Chuck exclaimed, "We'll give him a half hour head start. We'll tell him though."

"It's still wrong." Casey grumbled.

"We're doing it." Chuck told them, leaving the room and returning to the man, "We can give you a half an hour head start. After half an hour we'll alert out authorities to your presence."

"Fine." He grunted, nodding.

"Tell us what you know, now." Carina ordered him, glumly putting her lighter back into her pocket.

"I was contacted a month ago by a group that call themselves The Fornax Group." He started, "They needed a sniper on short notice as two of theirs were recently killed on their missions and their other operatives weren't up for the task."

Chuck turned to conceal his flash from the man. Even before the flash he'd felt a sort of familiarity to the name. He couldn't remember where from though.

"Who are the Fornax group?" Carina asked.

"They're like criminals for governments." Chuck answered, rubbing his temple slightly, "They do governments dirty work If you pay them, they'll do whatever you ask."

"Organised crime." Casey grunted.

"Exactly." Chuck sighed, "I've heard it before...where've I heard it before?" Chuck asked himself, pacing the room with a determined look across his face.

Carina and Casey watched as he continually paced across the room in a trace like state, racking his brain for where he'd heard it before.

"My dad's base!"

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

**They're on the trail!  
OoO what's going to happen?  
Who knows, I don't!**

**What do you guys think then?**

**Please review :D**


	4. Chapter 3

**I must shoutout ArmySFC for listening to my ramblings and reminding me that of two little things called reality and logic! **

**Once again I'd like to thank those who reviewed and urge those who read to also review, it makes me happy. And a happy Crispy means more writing!**

**Especially when a happy Crispy is a busy Crispy.**

**Ok, this is getting weird now...to the story!**

**Chapter 3.**

_2011 July 13__th__ – __Secret Facility, Unknown Location__._

It was early, the tattered clock on the wall of their room told her that much.

They'd taken her late the previous evening. They'd always like to ruff them around a little, a few beatings if they stepped out of line, but they'd never really crossed that line. She prayed that this remained the same. The room she was in was dark, with only two lights that illuminated the bunk bed, clock and draws. She'd been here for the last ten years but tonight was the first time she'd felt as afraid as she did right now.

It had been six hours.

Voices. Movement. The door swung inwards.

"Shit." Mary mumbled as two of the guards, Liam and Keith, dragged Sarah back into the room. Each had hold on one arm and were dragging her along the cold stone floor of the basement of office building that housed the Fornax Group's HQ. She was drifting in and out of consciousness, dried blood covering her exposed skin. Lumps and bruises were already forming. However one thing eased her mind by just a small amount. She was still clothed.

"Jake's on his way with some water." Liam told them before closing the door.

"Sarah? Can you hear me?" Mary asked, sliding onto the floor and pulling Sarah's head into her lap. "Hey, wake up." 

Pain.

**She thought she was used to pain by now. That she was somehow immune. It had been a nice thought for a while. ** **Until now. **

"I'm fine." Sarah told her, blinking quickly to try and stop the room spinning. Slowly moving one limb after another to test out what hurt most.

"Like hell you are." Mary muttered angrily, gently brushing Sarah's hair away from her face in a soothing action.

"Water and a first aid kit." The door had opened and Jake was standing there, an unreadable look on his face as he saw Sarah sprawled on the floor.

"I don't understand you." Mary whispered hoarsely, looking at the man. In the light, with that expression on his face, he couldn't have been more than twenty.

He remained silent, only watching her with the same sympathetic expression that he always had.

"I mean, you give us extra food when you can, you bring water and first aid. Hell you convinced the others to not say when you found the radio! You can't be more than twenty years old and you're stood there, watching somebody get almost beaten to death! It doesn't add up." Mary exclaimed, still running one hand gently through Sarah's hair, trying to soothe her.

"I have no parents, and a ten year old sister. No money and another life to look after. My uncle works here and got me the job, it pays well." He said simply, "Just accept what I give you and know that I am sorry for what happens to you."

He said this before turning and leaving.

Mary watched him go before proceeding to wash of the dried blood and attend to Sarah's wounds.

"Leave them, I deserve it." Sarah's voice was quiet, pained.

"What?" Mary asked in confusion.

"I'm a traitor. I've helped these people. Because of me people are dead. Good people." Sarah was crying now, trying moving her bruised and battered legs into the fatal position. The pain stopping her.

"Sarah, you've only helped them because they forced you." She tried to reason.

"A better person would have just let them kill me. I want to die." Sarah admitted, "I can't do this anymore."

"It wasn't you they were threatening." Mary whispered softly, running a hand through her hair as a mother would do for their child, "Sarah, you do what you can to protect the people you love."

"I just want everything to be over. I'm so tired." Sarah sobbed, trying to conceal her tears, "I miss him so much it physically hurts."

"I know." Mary whispered gently.

"So god damn much, I miss everything about him and our life. I wanted to marry him and leave all this shit behind. God I'd even thought about kids names!" Sarah's body shook violently with tears.

Mary knew there was nothing she could say to Sarah so she just cradled her gently, until her breathing was more regular and relaxed. Until she's slipped into a deep, pain filled sleep.

She missed them too.

Her family.

Chuck had been eight, Ellie was eleven. The call had come in when she was out shopping. One of her old covers, with a group that had been causing all sorts of problems back then, the Fornax Group, had been blown. She was no longer safe. Her family were no longer safe. She'd written him a letter. He was the love of her life and all he'd gotten was some stupid letter. He'd been worth so much more than that.

The scientist that the CIA had enlisted to help with some of their projects. Young, fresh, funny and handsome in a nerdy sort of way. After a difficult mission she'd been assigned to his safety and they'd fallen hard for each other. He was exactly what she needed to melt the ice. With his beautiful smile and bubbly personality he'd won over her heart in a matter of weeks.

Steven Bartowski.

It was the first time she'd truly wanted to leave the spy world. She'd finally thought she'd managed it after Chuck's first birthday. They had seven beautiful, uninterrupted years of happiness before it had all come back to haunt them.

She ran to protect them.

That was her way of being a good mother.

A good wife.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"What do you mean your dad's base?" Casey asked, dragging Chuck and Carina into the kitchen again, out of the earshot of the assassin.

"When my dad died, he left me this video and it led me to our old house. Underneath in was this base with all these boxes..." Chuck trailed off, more of the memory coming to him.

"Chuck?" Carina asked.

"We need to go to Burbank." Chuck told her.

"Why?" Carina asked, confused.

"My dad's files are there, they'll help us." Chuck told her, "We can drop him off on the way to the airport then Casey you can call Beckman and...just make something up." Chuck shrugged.

"Why do I always have to deal with her?" Casey all but whined.

One look from Carina shut him up.

Chuck was already searching for flights to Burbank, "There's one in a couple of hours." He told Carina, "I'll book it." He left the room to make the call outside.

"How is he?" Casey asked Carina once he'd left, peering out the window to see Chuck talking into his new iPhone. 

"You saw him, he's desperate for anything. He's so...driven and I'm not sure if it's a good thing. But it's worse now, it's like he's grasping at whatever straw he can because it's been too long. Before he was determined and now he's...this has become him, everything he does is for this. It's going to kill him." Carina sighed, "He needs to move on, I don't think he's realising that this isn't helping the wound heel, it's like keeping it open for longer."

"Are you really going to leave if this doesn't pan out?" Casey asked, a sense of disbelief in his eyes.

After all it had been he who had been the one to tell Carina of Sarah's fate. Never before had he seen someone go through so many stages of emotion in such a short period of time. Finally she'd settled on anger. Wait. Anger didn't cover it. Fury. Rage. Two words that held more fire. Two words that matched the emotions he'd seen.

"I don't know." Carina shrugged sadly, "When I'm on this case, I'm not me. I'm guarded. It's not fun."

"Life's not particularly fun." Casey shrugged.

"But my job was. I loved it. It was exhilarating, dangerous, sexy, shameful, patriotic." Carina smiled slightly at the thought of her old life, "This is just painful."

Casey looked at her. She was right. The flare she'd always seemed to have surrounding her was almost none existent. The oozing of confidence in her own sex appeal was dull. She almost seemed ordinary. She was no longer the Carina Miller he'd worked with in Prague. The woman who, on two separate occasions had left him handcuffed to a bed, half naked. No. This was somebody who had been broken.

He hoped that she could be fixed again.

_2011 July 14__th__ – __Burbank, CA__._

Sun.

It was always sunny in Burbank. Chuck remembered, scolding himself for forgetting. How was it possible he could forget that fact? He'd grown up in Burbank and practically lived there until he was almost thirty. He'd travelled so much in the past year that he'd almost forgotten what this block of apartments looked like. However being back there, every memory seemed to flood back to him, including the worst memory of his life...

"_Casey, hey." Chuck had pulled open the door at that moment, surprised to see a nervous looking John Casey, something he was convinced was a miracle and a slightly confused Ellie, "What's going on, where's Sarah?" He asked lightly._

"_Chuck..." Casey started, at a loss for words, letting his pained expression rip apart the dreams and hopes of the man standing in front of him._

"_Casey, what's going on?" Chuck asked, more urgently, "Where's Sarah!" His voice was now panicked and desperate as he scanned the courtyard._

_"I don't know." Casey finally managed to get out._

_"What do you mean you don't know?" Chuck asked, his voice squeaking with fear._

"The mission was a trap, I don't know why but we were ambushed when we got there, out team ended up dead and I must have taken a blow to the head or something because when I woke up, everyone alive was gone, the rest were all around me. Another team had been detached to see what had happened and they told me Sarah wasn't among the bodies." Casey's voice was full of guilt and sadness.

_"But she could still be alive? Right?" Chuck asked a small amount of hope surfacing as his voice and hands shook uncontrollably._

_Casey shook his head gently, "Chuck, we recovered a body from the nearest river. It's being analysed as we speak."_

"And you think it's Sarah?" Chuck gulped slightly, afraid of the answer.

_"We found this on her." Casey pulled out the charm bracelet that had once belonged to Mary Bartowski from his pocket._

_In that moment, Chuck's world collapsd._

"Chuck?" A voice asked in confusion, "What are you doing here bro?" Devon asked, pulling him into a guy hug.

"I'm in town and I thought I'd stop by." Chuck smiled at his brother in law, "Hey!"

"Hey!" Devon grinned happily, Ellie would be ecstatic.

"Is Ellie home?" A slight note of discomfort entered Chuck's voice.

"Yeah, she's still on maternity leave." Devon grinned as he and Chuck entered the apartment, "Honey, I'm home!" He called.

"I'm upstairs!" Ellie's voice drifted down the stairs.

A pang filled Chuck as the realisation of how much he'd missed his sister hit him. She'd always been his anchor, his rock. The person who he could count on in his life to not only be there for him, but to be normal, non CIA. She was also the person who'd asked him to quit the CIA, and after all she had done for him, how could he say no? Maybe things would have been different if he'd been on that mission to protect Sarah. Maybe none of this would have happened. Maybe...Maybe...There were far too many maybe's.

"Chuck?" Ellie exclaimed, rushing down the stairs, baby in arms.

"Hey sis." Chuck smiled, opening his arms to allow her to rush into them.

"What are you doing here?" She asked in shock.

"I was passing through and I wanted to see my nephew." Chuck told her, looking down at the baby in her arms, "Steven Woodcomb...he's beautiful." Chuck cooed at the baby, a huge, genuine smile erupting onto his face when the small boy wrapped his tiny fingers around Chuck's littlest finger, giggling happily at his new found toy, "I'm so sorry I haven't seen him sooner."

"It's...It's ok." Ellie stammered slightly, still in awe at seeing her brother standing in her living room. If the awkwardness could be ignored, she would almost be able to fool herself into thinking it was like old times.

"He's gorgeous Elle." Chuck told her seriously, continuing to stare at the small boy in wonder.

"Thanks." Ellie smiled.

"So what's going on bro? We never hear from you." Devon asked, wincing slightly after he said it due to the bluntness of the comment.

"Just looking into a lead that landed us here." Chuck shrugged, "The usual. What about you guys?" He defected the conversation away from himself with ease and skill, something he'd learn from the spy world.

"Well I've cut my hours back so I can spend more time at home with Ellie and Steve." Devon told Chuck, "And I'm now the Attending in Charge of Cardiothoracic surgery at Westside. So everything's good." He smiled happily, "Little sleepy thanks to this one but it's worth it."

"I bet." Chuck grinned, though there was a slight note of sadness in his voice for the life he'd lost.

He and Sarah would have had gorgeous babies. He thought sadly. His grin slipped slightly as he turned away from the two of them to collect himself before turning back to face them.

"So who's up for some breakfast?" Devon asked, trying to break the silence.

"Me, I'm starving." Chuck smiled.

"I'll put some pancakes on." Devon grinned, disappearing into the kitchen.

"Why don't you call?" Ellie asked once Devon had left, turning to face Chuck, hurt and anger dominating her usually calm face.

"Elle..." Chuck sighed, massaging his temples tiredly, "Please don't start."

"I want an answer." Ellie begged, "I feel like I've lost my little brother. I miss you."

"You haven't lost me." Chuck told her, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Look, I'm here, flesh and bone. But what I'm doing is important. To me."

"I know, I just wished you'd call or something. I spend half my time worrying if you've been shot or not. I have to get updated through John Casey!" She exclaimed sadly.

"I'm sorry Ellie." Chuck looked down, "I am but...like I said, this is important to me. I have to do this."

"But why?" Ellie asked, tears of desperation starting to form in her eyes, "What will it change?"

"I don't know." Chuck told her, his voice raising and turning slightly harsh, "I don't know! Just like I don't know how things would be different if I'd been there. I don't know what our wedding would have been like or what our kids would have looked like. I don't know and it's killing me! Would they have been brunette or blonde? Brown eyed or blue? Would it have been on the beach? Or some gardens somewhere? Would she still be here if I hadn't quit? If I hadn't walked away and stopped protecting her. Why did I do it? What's it gotten me?"

"I asked you too." Ellie's voice was slightly chocked up.

"I don't blame you Elle, I blame myself." Chuck told her, "I have to go, I'm sorry."

"What? But you only just got here!" Ellie protested.

"I know. I'm sorry." Chuck closed the distance between them and placed a kiss on her forehead, "I love you big sis, you know that right?"

"Yeah." Ellie nodded, tears dripping down her cheeks.

"And this little one, I love him too." Chuck placed a kiss on the baby Steve.

"You can't stay?" Devon asked, returning from the kitchen.

"I'm sorry." Chuck told him.

"Look after yourself bro." Devon gave Chuck what he called a 'man hug'.

"You too, and it's your job to look after these two." Chuck smiled, clapping Devon on the back and leaving the apartment.

"You ok?" Carina asked, she'd been waiting outside.

"Yeah. One more stop." Chuck walked across to the apartment that had a sold sign in front of it and knocked.

"Chuck?" Morgan Grimes exclaimed as he opened the door, box in hand.

"Hey buddy." Chuck grinned, and though it didn't meet his eyes, it was still genuine.

"Alex, look what the cat dragged in!" Morgan exclaimed.

"No frecking way!" Carina mumbled as Alex McHugh wandered into sight, "Jesus Christ, Casey spawned."

"Hi..." She looked at Carina, who was still in shock, with an amused expression on her face.

"Oh, I bet he just loved this." Carina started to laugh, looking between the two of them, "Finally I have something to use against him."

"Carina, you have plenty." Chuck rolled his eyes, "Hi Alex." He smiled slightly at his best friends...girlfriend.

Morgan was in a serious, loving relationship. Serious enough to move across country to be the manager in the D.C branch of Buy More.

It was bizarre.

Everybody was moving forward, growing up. Except him. He was stuck on the quest and there was nothing he could do about it.

"What are you guys doing here?" Morgan asked, allowing them into the now boxed up apartment.

"Chasing a lead." Chuck grinned.

"Hang on, so you're really Casey's daughter?" Carina asked, eyeing Alex up.

"Yes." She nodded, watching Carina with amusement.

"This is so odd." Carina's eyes were wide, "Oh my god. This is brilliant!" Carina grinned.

"So moving to D.C huh?" Chuck diverted the conversation, once again rolling his eyes at Carina.

"Yeah, I leave next week." Morgan smiled, "Erm, I boxed up all your stuff, It's in your old room. I didn't really know what to do with it...It was a tie between putting it in storage and bringing it out to Washington. Casey mentioned you kept an apartment there."

"Thanks buddy." Chuck's smile dropped, "Erm, If you could fly it out with the rest of your stuff, I'd really appreciate it."

"No problem." Morgan nodded.

"Do you mind...?" Chuck asked, motioning towards his old room and slipping off.

Carina's eyes followed him before turning to Morgan, "Is all Sarah's stuff there as well?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah." Morgan nodded sadly, "I really didn't know what to do with it. I found the ring too which was erm, well I put it in a box marked with all her things."

"There's really not much you could have." Carina said sympathetically, "Let me guess, he left it exactly the way it was as a sort of relic to her?"

"Yes." Morgan nodded, "How's he doing?"

"I think he no longer cares what happens to him, as long as he gets the people responsible." Carina sighed, "Thanks for your help. Good luck in D.C"

"Thanks, good luck on your mission." Morgan watched as she headed after Chuck.

"We should get going." Carina said from the doorway.

"Yeah." Chuck nodded, staring into a box labelled photos and not moving.

"Let's look then." Carina knelt down next to him and began unwrapping the first photo.

"No!" Chuck said suddenly, stopping her, "Let's just go."

"Ok." Carina nodded, slightly taken aback by the outburst.

"I'm sorry, it's just..." Chuck trailed off.

"Personal." Carina finished, helping Chuck to his feet, "I get it."

"Thanks." He smiled.

"Let's go."

_**2010**__ August 10__th__ – Secret Facility, Unknown Location._

She was thinner, and paler than she had been on any of the photos. That was to be expected, it had been just less than two months since she'd been dragged into the facility. Her screams were loud and pain filled as they rose up from the basement, only two rooms over from the room where she was kept.

"Mary, meet Sarah Walker, she'll be assisting us today. I'm sure the two of you will have plenty to talk about." David taunted.

"Like hell I'll help you." The blonde had spat, struggling against her binds.

She was wearing clothes sizes too big, a pair of mans sweat pants and a jumper so large it reached her knees. Her face still held a flame of resistance and a want to escape, to do anything to get her out of this place. She still had fight in her.

"Your dad looks good for his age." David replied in the same carefree voice as he clicked a button and a video appeared on the screen.

A man was walking about an apartment, seemingly putting away groceries and doing the usual chores, "Not nearly as exciting as his previous profession, it seems since his daughter's loss he's decided to walk the straight and narrow. Settle down and stay in one place which is just perfect for us. I highly doubt we'd have been able to tract the infamous Jack Burton." David continued to mock.

"Stay the fuck away from my dad." Sarah seethed trying desperately to free herself so she could attack David. Her eyes filled with a fiery rage.

"Oh I will, if you do as I ask." His voice remained smugly cheerful. He knew he'd backed Sarah into a corner.

Sarah glared at him, "You son of a bitch."

"So what will it be? Help us or watch your dad suffer?"

Slowly, she stopped struggling and slumped down in the chair.

The fire, hope and fight that had been there just ten minutes ago was gone.

She was now truly helpless.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

**Please Review?  
I love hearing your thoughts and comments!**

**Remember, a happy Crispy = a writing Crispy!**

**Oh and some questions you can all answer...**

**1. anyone interested in seeing Carina's reaction?**

**2. as a reader, who wants to see what in the story? I like to accommodate for your needs.**


	5. Chapter 4

**HELLO!**

**Sorry for the day late update, I was away from my laptop all Saturday and Sunday!**

**Thanks to all those who reviewed :D**

**And any brits out there, hope you've had an ace bank holiday :)**

**Anyway, here's the new chap...**

**Chapter 4.**

_2011 July 15__th__ – __Encino, CA__._

The welcome smell of a freshly brewed coffee awakened him. His eyes fluttered open he found a freshly steaming cup to his left. He straightened up, attempting to stretch out his now wooden back that was now protesting to the uncomfortable position he'd fallen asleep in. After rubbing the sleep from his eyes and letting his eyes adjust to their current situation, Carina came into focus. She was reading through some of the mountains of files they'd found in Orion's base, her own mug seemingly glued to her left hand.

"Morning." Chuck yawned, peering over the top of the large piles they'd pursued the previous night only to find more and more files on the same subject.

"Morning." She replied distractedly, still pouring through the files.

"Found anything?" Chuck asked.

"As far as I can gather, Povlov was telling to truth. Your dad's notes all seem to suggest they're organised crime for whoever pays. Corruption, assassinations, whatever anybody wants. They target burned agents ect, anyone they think they can turn...Oh my god..." Carina trailed off.

"What?" Chuck asked, shooting up and practically sprinting to her side.

"That's Sarah's handwriting, right?" Carina asked in shock, looking at notes scrawled along the side of what Chuck's dad had wrote.

"Yeah." Chuck nodded, one figure tracing out the pattern made by Sarah's hand while Carina read the file.

"It says _'possibility of blown cover'_ in her writing next to these case notes." She told him.

"What's the case?" Chuck asked, tearing his eyes away from the writing to meet Carina's eyes.

"A deep cover operation ran by a Kate Lions, it says she infiltrated the group and almost single handedly brought them to their knees." Carina read.

"Wait, who did you say was the agent?" Chuck asked curiously, remembering the name.

"Agent Kate Lions of the CIA." Carina repeated.

"I know that name..." Chuck mused.

"Did you flash on it?" Carina asked quickly.

"No." Chuck shook his head and stood up, heading to the very end of the room and picking up his mother's box, "Here!" He exclaimed.

On top of all the files, in Sarah's writing was a note, _'Mary Bartowski nee Harries, aka Heather Cliff, Kate Lions, Lucy Owens.' _The name Kate Lions was circled a number of times.

"What was she doing?" Carina asked as she stared at the note in confusion.

"She was looking for my mother." Chuck whispered, "When my dad died he left me a video that led me here and I showed Sarah. For the last twenty years he'd been searching for her but had never found her. Sarah said she'd use her resources and spyness while she still had them to look for her." Chuck looked through the notes and files that Sarah had scrawled down.

"So your mother was the agent that took The Fornax Group down. Embarrassed them and ruined their reputation for the next twenty or so years?" Carina clarified.

"Apparently so..." Chuck mumbled, still distracted as he read through more notes.

"Chuck, this is an organisation that is highly likely that they never forgive and forget." Carina pointed at Sarah's scribbled note, "It says here 'possibility of blown cover' if they found out then that could explain your mothers' disappearance."

"You think they're responsible for what happened to my mum?" Chuck asked softly, looking at the picture of her. It was the standard CIA picture that accompanied her badge and profile. She was young when it had been taken, only in her late twenties, and she looked a lot like Ellie, the same dark hair, however it was shorter that Ellie's and straighter.

"I think it would be where Sarah was looking." Carina told him, picking up some more notes, "Here, look at this. _'October 1991, Mary Bartowski leaves. Two weeks prior agent associated with the CIA take down of The Fornax Group also goes missing, suspected of being abducted by them for information.'_" Carina read out from the notes Sarah had made so long ago. 

"Does it give the name of anyone who may know about any of this?" Chuck asked, eyes glued on the picture.

"Yes actually, Susan Knightly, there's an address here." Carina watched as Chuck flashed on the name, "What does the intersect say?"

"She was an CIA officer from 1979 to around 1998 when she took a desk job out west." Chuck synopsised, "She worked with my mum on a couple of missions. Though it said nothing of the mission that took down them."

"Let's go check it out then." Carina said, standing up, "Come on Chuckles."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"Colonel, your report unnerves me." The General said sternly, looking at John Casey with a severe expression, "In my personal opinion, this operation has gone on far too long. The intersect's skills and abilities would be better served elsewhere."

"With all due respect General, we both know that Chuck isn't going to let this go. He won't work elsewhere." Casey stressed Chuck's name to her, making her aware that 'the intersect' had a name, "It's a two man team, occasionally three man that have done more good than harm."

"The DEA director is breathing down my neck, he wants Agent Miller back ASAP and what can I tell him, she's off gallivanting around on a while goose chase with a broken hearted agent." The General shook her head.

"Chuck will never stop, not until it either kills him or he gets justice for those responsible. Carina on the other hand, I believe she's likely to return to the DEA after the lead they're chasing pans out." Casey informed her.

"And remind me again, what this lead is?" She rose her eyebrows sceptically.

"A group called The Fornax Group." Casey told her, "As you know we stopped a man shooting the Belgium Ambassador and he told us he was working for the Fornax Group. Chuck remembers the name and has decided to chase it up."

"The Fornax Group?" The General clarified.

"Yes, why?" Colonel John Casey's eyes narrowed slightly.

"They've been a mythical idea for years, however the only time we've been able to get close to them was years and years ago. Walker asked about this a few weeks for your last mission." Her forehead creased in confusion.

"Sarah was looking into this group?" Casey asked quickly.

"She told me she was searching for Chuck's mother. I was shocked, the implication that Chuck's mother was part of the CIA was news to me. However when Walker gave me her maiden and code names the stories checked out. She'd been sent to guard a scientist after her last mission went dreadfully wrong, it was like benching her. About four years later she expresses a wish to fully leave the company, by this point she'd married Stephen Bartowski and given birth to a baby girl and boy, Chuck. Then a year after she managed it, all her ties were cut and that was the last on record for them." The General massaged her temples slowly, showing both her age and the tiredness she was currently feeling.

"So it was basically like Chuck and Sarah, old school style?" Casey asked in disbelief, "Talk about like father like son."

"I know." The General muttered dryly as she nodded.

"So what did you tell Walker in the end?" Casey asked.

"I managed to get hold of the names of some of the people involved with the mission, though I warned for that it was a wild goose chase." The General said.

"Do you still have that list somewhere?" Casey asked curiously.

"I'll send you a copy." She told him before signing off, the screen going blank.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The address was a three hour drive from Encino which the majority was spent arguing over the choice of music.

"I'm sorry if I don't want to listen to some whiny emo crap!" Carina retorted, rolling her eyes.

"This is NOT whiny emo crap, this is indie music with influences of alternative rock at its best!" Chuck argued back, "Besides, at least they can sing unlike that techno crap you listen to, you do know that it's just a computer right?" Chuck asked patronisingly.

"Oh shut up." Carina's tone was icy.

"Sore loser." Chuck grinned at Carina, "We could always talk?" Chuck suggested, "Share our lady feelings."

"Now you're just asking for me to shoot you." Carina mumbled, her eyes settling on the road ahead of them.

"You and Casey are so perfect for each other." Chuck replied.

"Been there, done that. Multiple times." Carina gave Chuck an unamused look.

"Ew...thanks, my brain is now scared for life." Chuck grimaced, "So are you ever going to tell me why you joined the DEA?"

"My mum was a crack whore." Carina answered, not looking over.

"Seriously?" Chuck asked, his head snapping round to look at Carina in shock that she's actually answered.

"Nope, but nice reaction." Carina laughed.

"Not funny." Chuck muttered, his eyes turning back to the road.

"Oh come on, your expression was priceless." Carina teased.

"Whatever, we're almost there." Chuck said, stepping down on the accelerator so the car shot forward at a faster speed.

"Are you seriously going to sulk about this?" Carina asked in disbelief.

"We're here." Chuck pulled over and got out the car, walking up the garden path and ignoring Carina.

"I take that as a yes." Carina muttered, "Baby."

She caught up with Chuck, both of their mission faces on as he knocked on the door. They were kept waiting for three minutes before a woman answered the door. She was fifty five if the date of birth in her file was correct, although, like most older agents that Chuck had come across, she looked younger than their actual age. Their only give away was their eyes, that seemed to hold more than any age should. As soon as she saw Chuck she sighed and stepped aside.

"Chuck Bartowski?" She asked, as if just to clarify a fact she already knew.

"Yes." Chuck nodded, "Susan Knightly?" Chuck asked in the same voice.

"Yes." She nodded, "You look a lot like your dad but you've got parts of your mum in."

"I have a few questions for you, is that ok?" Chuck asked, "This is my partner, Carina Miller."

"OK." She nodded, walking into the kitchen, "Can I get you a drink?"

"Water please." Chuck said while Carina nodded for the same.

"So, what do you want to know?" She asked.

"Did this woman...Sarah, ever ask you any questions or contact you in any way?" Chuck asked, pulling out a picture of him and Sarah from his wallet and sliding it across the counter top to Susan.

"Yeah, she said her name was Sarah Walker. She was looking for your mother, I figured the two of you were together. Another Bartowski charms an agent." She nodded, "Why?"

"She's dead." Chuck said shortly and painfully.

"What...?" Susan seemed genuinely saddened and surprised of this.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Chuck asked, "I want the people behind it and if it has anything to do with it then it would really help."

"Of course."

_..._

_Sarah Walker studied the house. It was pretty with no neighbours and a large surrounding area. The sort of house she could picture her and Chuck in one day._

_One day in the relatively near future, she hoped._

_There's only so much time one can spend sharing an apartment with a lovestruck Morgan. It was now becoming a nightly occurrence for one of them to run into either Morgan or Alex in the kitchen, As it was usually Sarah running into Alex the two had grown relatively used to each other, it was amazing how quickly you can get to know someone during a drink in the middle of the night. However a nice house with a big garden and plenty of space defiantly had its appeal. A major advantage being that it wasn't suburbsy so no nightmares could be had about their last experience with the suburbs and their residents._

"_Hello?" The woman was watching Sarah carefully. Too carefully. A tell of a retired agent. She was the woman from the photo. Sarah was fairly certain of it. Though older._

"_Hi." Sarah climbed out of her Porsche and locked it, "Are you Susan Knightly?" She walked closer to the woman but still stayed a relatively far distance way, so an attack would be seen and be able to be stopped._

"Depends who's asking." She said, looking Sarah up and down and immediately deciding she was an agent of some kind.

"I'm looking for Mary Bartowski." Sarah told her, "I'm..." 

_I'm in love with her son._

_I'm her sons girlfriend._

_Partner._

"I know her son." Sarah settled upon, "He asked me to find her."

"Well then." Susan held the door open for Sarah, "I'm not sure how much help I'll be though."

"Any help will be appreciated to be honest." Sarah admitted, sitting down opposite the woman, "How did you know her?"

"We worked together a couple of times, how do you know about me?" She asked curiously.

_Sarah pulled out a photo._

"Where did you get this?" She asked curiously.

"Stephen Bartowski left it behind in a bunch of stuff." Sarah told her.

_"Left it behind?" She asked._

"He died last month." Sarah looked down quickly.

"I'm sorry to hear that." She sounded it as well.

"What do you know about Mary's involvement in the Fornax Group?" Sarah asked her.

_..._

"I said not much. We didn't talk about missions or anything." Susan told Chuck, "The only think I know is that Mary shows up on my doorstep on night in October of 91 and she's crying, telling me she had to leave to keep you all safe. The next morning she'd gone."

"Her cover must have been blown, someone warned her and she left." Carina put together, running a hand through her hair, not noticing the slight shaking to it

"I'm sorry that I can't be of more help." She looked down.

"Chuck!" Carina said quickly, placing a finger on her lips and her head snapping around, "We've got company."

"What?" Chuck exclaimed, "We had no tail the entire way here."

"They must have been watching the house." Carina replied.

Chuck could not here boots on the drive, at least five pairs, "You go around the back." He told Carina, "Here, I take it you can still use one?"

"Of course." She nodded as she took the gun.

"Who even is 'they'?" Chuck muttered.

"Guess we're about to find out!" Carina said before looking around at their tactiacal position, which, in a word, sucked. "We're going to get slaughtered."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Chuck grinned, watching as the dorr was flung off its hinges and two men ran in.

Chuck flashed.

Carina took down the first one with a well placed bullet before the back door burst open and reinforcements came. Chuck smiled at the second man, knocking the gun out of his hands before following through with a crescent kick that whipped the man across the face. Sounds were in overdrive in the usually peaceful house. Gun fire rang out. Glass smashed and bodies fell. Chuck was trying to avert from using the cold metal in his left hand, instead using the butt to knock the men out.

"Chuck, behind!" Carina yelled as she fought with her own opponent, her gun lying a few feet from her where it had been kicked.

Chuck turned just in time to duck the swipe of a knife that would have slit open his neck just moments later. The uppercut driven into the man's stomach followed by an arm break lead to the knife falling gracefully to the floor away from its less that graceful owner. Chuck grabbed the man's throat and began to squeeze, "Who do you work for?"

"Go to hell!" He spat back.

Carina and Susan had taken care of the rest of the men and were now looking for identities.

"Chuck, we need to get out of here before they figure out what's happened and send more." Carina told him.

"Ok," Chuck hit the man once again with the butt of his gun, rendering him unconscious before rolling him into the boot of their car, Susan and Carina climbing in behind him, the former holding a bag.

"Have you got everything you want?" Chuck asked her.

"Yes." Susan nodded.

"Do we assumed they were watching the house or we were followed?" Chuck asked once again as he drove away.

"Watching the house, we would have seen a tail." Carina pointed out.

"So the base will still be secure?" Chuck asked.

"It should be, either way it's easy enough to defend and attack from." Carina muttered as she weaved in and out of obstacles.

"You think they were watching my house?" Susan asked again, "I should have noticed."

"It's not your fault." Chuck told her, though secretly wondering if that was what led to Sarah's disappearance and death.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"Shower time." Liam was stood at the door, looking into their room. He tossed them two towels, "You know the drill by now, no trouble or we'll be all too happy to burst in to check everything's ok."

Sarah and Mary said nothing as they were led to the locker rooms of the buildings where there were usual showering facilities. There was nobody in the room, or no camera's thankfully and somebody, most likely Jake, had laid out two clean sets of clothing that actually looked as if it would fit along with some shampoo and soap.

"Almost luxury." Mary mumbled.

"Hey, the clothes actually look as if they'd fit this time." Sarah said, holding up the t-shirt that only looked one, or two sizes too big, "And jeans."

"Now I just feel special." Mary said in a falsly chirpily.

She was sometimes so much like Chuck, it hurt.

...

"Much better." Liam told them half an hour later when they were escorted to a conference room on one of the higher floors.

"So glad you approve." Sarah rolled her eyes at Liam.

"See, that sort of thing gets you in trouble. If you stopped then maybe you wouldn't look like a punch bag so much." Liam retorted before cuffing each of them to a chair and leaving.

"Always the charmer." Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Now that our last operation is over and you've all learned your lesson about opening and not opening your mouth, we've got something else that we need you two to look at." David entered the room as he spoke and strode to the front, pulling up a file on the projection screen, "We have an...issue."

"What?" Sarah asked, watching a picture of Carina and Chuck appear on the screen in front of an all too familiar house, fear flooding the pit of her stomach, slowly rising up. 

"Your son and I suppose your boyfriend or is it ex-boyfriend, I'm not too sure how these things work when half the relationship is convinced you're dead...either way, he's quite talented." David taunted, "We send a team to go retrieve him and the DEA redhead a few hours ago and they haven't checked in."

"You're bringing Chuck in?" Sarah asked, cold fear running down her back.

"It seems that either Chuckles has taken over you search or is searching for your killers." He told them, "We've been watching that friend of yours for the last few years, she's grown careless, however she's useful, she unwittingly supplies us with knowledge such as the fact that Sarah here was looking into you all that time ago."

"What do you want?" Mary asked her voice short and un-amused. She wasn't joining in on his petty mind games.

"I want you to find your son, and tell me exactly where he is." David told her seriously.

"I won't do that." Mary shook her head defiantly.

"I'd ask Sarah here but she doesn't have the skills. Together, however, I'm sure you'll be able to find them." David told them.

"I won't do it." Sarah hissed.

"We put you together for a reason almost a year ago. Now Mary, you think of Sarah like a daughter and likewise, Sarah thinks of you as a close friend, a mother figure in her life. You'll do it because if I don't have the location of Chuck Bartowski in two hours, your son's beliefs about his girlfriend will be confirmed." David told Mary in a calm yet threatening voice.

"This has been your plan all along?" Mary whispered, "After Stephen died, you needed new leverage..."

"Sarah created the perfect excuse...A, she was looking into us, B, you were placed together for this purpose and C, I will actually shoot her because she's not nearly as valuable as you." David told her seriously.

"You bastard." Mary seethed, "You wouldn't."

David gave her an odd expression before pulling out his gun, clicking off the safety and pointing it at Sarah's shoulder.

Without even blinking, he pulled the trigger.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

You asked me why I joined the DEA," Carina started, as she watched the man struggle against the bonds that bound him to a chair in the next room, "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes." Chuck told her simply, watching the man carefully, studying his movements and actions. Was he scared? Would he talk?

"I was younger, dating a guy that was...the gorgeous bad boy type, he hung out with the wrong crowd but wasn't that bad. I mean he smoked and drank a bit too much, but hey, we were young. God I thought I was in love with him. I wasn't but I may have well have been. Like I said, he hung around the wrong people and one of his friends deal went wrong, a fight broke out and he got killed because of some petty amount of pot." Carina turned to Chuck, "People should never fall in love, or even close."

"It's too late for me." Chuck muttered, "I should have stopped her, done something. She thought it would be a simple grab, nothing was supposed to go wrong. She'd have come back and we would have gotten married...it would have been perfect."

"This pain, right now, is why you never fall in love." Carina carried on, "S'not worth it."

"I say different." Chuck said, turning to face her for the first time, "Sarah's death killed a part of me, but Sarah also made me alive. The times I had with her, I cherish those more than anything and I wouldn't swap them. We had what we had and I loved her. The pain is the worst I've gone through but it was worth it for the times we had together."

"You're a stronger person than me." Carina smiled and gave Chuck a reassuring pat on the arm, "Now let's find the bastards who did this."

Chuck nodded and walking into the room. Gone was a broken-hearted Chuck, in his place was the cold, vengeful Charles Carmichael

"Who do you work for?" Chuck asked again, staring into the eyes of the man who'd tried to kill him.

He was silent.

"I won't insult your intelligence. I'm not going to kill you...yet. I am however, am going to make you wish you were dead. It will probably be very stress relieving, not just for me but for my partner, who'd been itching for a fight in ages. So are you going to save yourself some pain and tell me exactly who you work for?"

"The blonde," The man started, looking at Chuck with a curious expression.

"What about 'the blonde'?" Chuck asked, rolling his eyes slightly at the man's vagueness.

"Your blonde, Sarah." He was smiling now.

"What about her?" Chuck asked through gritted teeth.

"She's alive."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

**Cliffhanger!**

**Please please please review if you want to know what happens next!  
A little bit of simple maths **

**Reviews = Happy Crispy! = Inspiration = New Chapter!**

**They mean a lot and your feedback helps me shape the chapters!**

**:D**


	6. Chapter 5

**So as well as being super busy atm, I'm also suffering from the dreaded writers block so please bare with me!  
Hence the shorter chapter and day late update!**

**SORRY!**

**Anyway, enjoy...**

**Chapter 5.**

_2011 July 17__th__ – __Encino, CA__._

Chuck froze.

Times seemed to stand still as the words sank in.

Your blonde. Sarah. She's alive...

"You lying son of a-" Carina had hurtled across the room and launched herself at the man.

"Carina!" Chuck interjected quickly, springing back into action just in time to catch Carina before she could reach her intended target.

"Chuck! Let go of me!" She screamed angrily, trying to pummel Chuck out the way.

"NO!" Chuck yelled, "Calm down!"

When she showed no sign of letting up Chuck marched her, kicking and screaming, out of the room, "Carina!"

"No! He's lying!" Carina repeated, more to herself than Chuck, "No, no, I've been through this, she's gone."

"Carina." Chuck said more gently.

"No." Carina shook her head before marching out the back door.

The garden was small for the size of the house, however, like the rest of the house, it had a certain charm about it. The swinging garden bench creaked as it moved, creating something to focus on in the silence.

She rocked back and forth, thoughts swirling around her brain. Sarah couldn't be alive, she'd spent a year trying to get over the fact that her best friends was dead. Sure it was an occupational hazard but she'd never thought Sarah, the CIA's finest new agent, someone who was practically invincible, would ever become another name on the list. They were the two who were supposed to be left standing. The thought that she was alive was too painful to deal with...

"_John Casey, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Carina asked, a grin spread out across her face as she opened the door to reveal the Marine._

_She'd only been back in D.C for a few hours when she'd heard the knock at her apartment door. There were very few people who knew she lived there. Her smile faltered slightly as she took in his face. Unfairly aged, tired and saddened. His stance had changed from that of a man oozing with self confidence and slight danger to one of someone who was a little unsure of themselves while being tired and depressed. He even seemed shorter._

"What's happened?" Carina asked, moving out the way of her door so he could come in.

"_It's Sarah." Casey said, sitting down heavily on the sofa and running a hand through his hair._

_Panic began to rise._

"What about Sarah? Has she and Chuckles broken up or something?" Carina tried to joke.

"_There was this mission. It went wrong. She was taken and they just found her body." Casey paused, "I'm so sorry."_

"What are you saying?" Carina asked, looking at Casey with a pained expression on her face.

_"I'm saying she's dead Carina." Casey placed a hand on Carina's shoulder._

She jumped up at the touch, "Are you sure? Because Sarah's Sarah. Indestructible." 

"_Carina..." Casey shook his head, "They're 98% sure it's her."_

"98%! There's still a 2% chance that she's alive!" Carina laughed slightly, denial still clouding her vision.

_"Carina, it's Sarah. There was simply not enough flesh to get a DNA sample to confirm." Casey's expression made Carina stop._

_He was so serious._

_"No..." Carina searched for other excuses. Anything that could make this not be true._

"I'm sorry Carina, I know the two of you were close." Casey looked away from Carina, unable to meet her eyes that were so full of realisation and grief as it dawned on her that Casey was telling the truth.

_"We were supposed to go to running." Carina whispered._

_"What?" Casey asked, confusion on his features._

"_When I got back from the mission we were on. She still reckoned she could beat me so we were going to go running and see who'd win. We had a bet and everything." Carina let her body fall gently onto the sofa as she ran a hand through her red hair, "What happened?" Her voice was defeated._

"_I don't know, I can't remember." Casey's voice held the guilt._

_"What do you remember?" She asked, a little edgily._

"We got a tip on a domestic terrorist plot, a guy selling information. It was a simple interception and pick up." Casey started rubbing his temples, "Next thing I know I'm waking up and there are bodies everywhere and Sarah's gone. We spent the next few days searching for her and then the body turned up."

"Who's responsible?" Carina asked, her fists balling into a fist.

_"We don't know yet." Casey admitted._

"What? You don't know!" Carina shot up once again

_"We've no leads at the current moment." Casey looked down._

"Well then let's find these bastards." Carina said quickly, picking up a gun from the coffee table and clicking it into place for effect. 

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"Crap crap crap." Mary muttered, applying pressure to the wound in Sarah's shoulder.

"It's fine, he missed everything on purpose. It's just a flesh wound." Sarah muttered, holding her scrunched up jacket to the wound, "It was a tester shot, to prove he would."

"But why! He's losing his leverage!" Mary exclaimed angrily, pulling Sarah's t-shirt off her shoulder to take a better look at the entrance and exit wound.

"Once they have Chuck they won't need me." Sarah told her quietly.

"But why?" Mary asked again.

"Because they'll have him and you." Sarah closed her eyes, "You'll be used as leverage to force Chuck to work for them. You new computers and remote access missions better than me, making you more useful but Chucks better at those things than both of us and I'll become uselcess."

"Damn it." Mary cursed loudly, "And what, they'll kill you if I don't tell then Chuck's location?"

"That's what he said." Sarah nodded, "Either way, we'll never be together."

"What can I do?" Mary asked, pleading with Sarah.

"Protect Chuck." Sarah told her, "Please."

"Sarah, they'll have others looking for him, everywhere, even if I refuse to help them, they'll find him." Mary rambled, "I don't understand." She repeated, "Why's he acting like such an idiot."

"Missions have been falling through, he needs more, better people. He wants Chuck." Sarah sighed.

"Chuck would never work for them." Mary shook her head defiantly.

"Chuck would do anything to protect his family." Sarah told her, looking at her with a look that said she was right.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"Tell me everything you know, now." Chuck told the man, pulling up a chair and sitting down in front of him.

"Why?" He asked sounding genuinely curious.

"You told me about Sarah, how you believe her to be alive and you know this will give me a desire to find out what you know. So you either want me to torture you or you actually want to tell me what's going on." Chuck said coolly.

"I want money." He told them, "Enough to allow me to disappear comfortably."

"How much?" Chuck asked sighing.

"$1.5million." He told Chuck seriously.

"Jesus Christ." Chuck muttered, standing up and leaving the room, "Get Casey on the phone." He told Carina, massaging his temples, "The guy wants $1.5mil for information."

"How do we even know it's good info!" Carina asked incredulously as she dialled Casey's number.

"Casey secure." He answered.

"How easy is it to get hold of $1.5mil?" Chuck asked straight away.

"What?" Casey asked, a little surprised and confused.

"One of the men we captured says Sarah's alive and he wants $1.5mil to disappear in exchange for information." Chuck explained.

"That's a lot of money Chuck. You need to be sure the info's good." Casey sighed.

"Can you see how much you can get and then I'll figure the rest out." Chuck told him.

Casey grunted a yes.

"And then maybe catch the next flight out here, I've a feeling we might be needing the Casey." Chuck smiled slightly at this.

"I'll bring a team out." Casey told him.

"Great." Chuck hung up, "He's seeing what Beckman will give him then coming out here."

"Chuck, how do you know this guys not bullshitting you?" Carina asked.

"I don't." Chuck shrugged, walking back into the room, "I want proof." Chuck told him.

"Proof?" The man asked, scoffing slightly.

"I know who you are. Michael Edwards. Hired muscle. Been in jail twice for relatively minor charges." Chuck said coolly, "So yes, I want proof that you're not feeding me crap for $1.5mil because I also know you have a daughter."

"You wouldn't hurt her." He said, although his voice was shaking slightly, his confidence gone.

"Maybe, maybe not. But you knew when you taunted me about 'the blonde' that she was important to me. You know who she is and who I am. I trust you boss has told you that much. We're Chuck and Sarah. The person in the middle never ends up in a good place so I'd start talking if I were you, because maybe or maybe not isn't something you should bet on. I can get you some money to disappear on depending on how good your information is." Chuck told him confidently, watching as the walls the man in front of him had built came crumbling down.

"All I know is that my boss wants you to work for him." He started.

"Why would he think I would?" Chuck asked quickly.

"Because he has leverage against you."

"Who? Sarah?"

"No, your mother."

"What?" Chuck watched the man in shock.

"I think they took Sarah because she was looking too closely into our group. They've been using her against your mom for a year now but now they want you." The man told Chuck seriously.

"And then they won't need Sarah anymore." Chuck finished quietly to himself, "Who's this group? The Fornax Group?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"I want to find them. Now."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"How's the shoulder?" Mary asked an hour later.

"The bleeding's pretty much stemmed. I'll be fine." Sarah sighed, ignoring the shivers and pale complexion she had from all the blood loss.

"For another hour at least." Mary muttered, typing away on her computer.

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked tiredly, looking over at the screen.

"Looking over what happened at the house." Mary said distractedly, "One of the men isn't accounted for. I'm figuring out who it is then I'm going to try and get a message through to him which would actually go to Chuck hopefully."

"Any luck?" Sarah asked, standing up slowly and walking over to Mary.

"I think so." She nodded slowly, "Michael Edwards."

"Ok, so does he have some sort of cell?" Sarah asked.

"I think so but we've two problems. Firstly this computer is alarmed, I can't send out messages without it giving off an alarm and also what do I send to Chuck?" She asked helplessly, "Run...save us...help?"

"How long is there in between when you send the message and when their alarm will go off?" Sarah asked.

"Ten minutes tops."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"Casey can get $500,000 and is currently on a military jet with a team flying out here. What's Edwards given you?" Carina asked Chuck as she hung up the phone.

"According to Edwards The Fornax Group has my mother and Sarah in an office building in central L.A. I can't believe it. I searched the world for the people who I thought were her killers and all this time they've been right in my backyard." Chuck shook his head in anger, "She's been alive this entire time and I've wasted a year. Left her with these people!"

"Chuck, we still don't have proof that he's telling the truth." Carina said gently.

"But I believe him. For the first time I actually have some hope left." Chuck told her and there was indeed hope in his voice.

"So an office building in L.A. What's their cover?" Carina asked, accepting Chuck's hope.

"An insurance company, DCJ." Chuck told Carina, "I've told Beckman as she's given us the go ahead."

"A two man team to take down this group that's apparently the governments go to guys for all things illegal." Carina grinned.

"Certainty of death, small chance of success, what are we waiting for?" Chuck asked with a huge grin on his face.

"You really are your father's son." Susan laughed at this, "He loved Lord of the Rings."

"Jesus Christ." Carina mumbled as she realised where exactly she'd heard Chuck's statement before.

"It won't be a two man team, it will be a three." Susan told them, "I can help."

Chuck and Carina looked at each other, it was a good point. An extra gun at least. Casey's team wouldn't arrive for another few hours.

"Ok." Chuck nodded, "Casey knows where the building is and he and his team are going to parachute down. We just need a plan."

"Here, I've got the building specs." Carina told them as she turned the laptop around to show the schematics of the building.

"There's an access tunnel here, from the subway." Chuck pointed out, "It's built similar to the CIA station."

"We could access it from there." Carina nodded, "If we take out the cameras in the area then we'll have more of an element of surprise."

"They'll have realised that we've got one of their own by now and be expecting an attack." Chuck muttered.

"Maybe, maybe not." Carina shrugged, "Search him, we'll take any passwords, keycards and his phone with us when we go. They could come in useful."

"Good idea. I'm guessing they'll have cameras in the area. So we should either attempt some sort of disguise in the time we have or try and disable them."

"Or go in through the subway, get on in the closest subway and blend with the usual crowd, have hats and things but no need for extremes." Susan put in.

"That's a good idea." Carina agreed.

"So it's decided." Chuck nodded, "Let's get what we need and go. Carina secure Edwards."

Carina tied Edwards up tight and away from anything he could use to escape while taking away his phone and anything else useful while Susan and Chuck grabbed whatever weapons they had in the half before leaving the house. Their rescue attempt was underway...

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

**Sorry about the rubbishness of this chapter, total writers block atm plus starting college again soon so ARGG! Goodbye time and summer, hello tons of work :(**

**Please review anyway, tell me what you want to see and opinions ect, they'll help with the inspiration and more writing!**

**THANKS!**

**Crispy :)**


	7. Chapter 6

**Thanks for the reviews :) and to aupnaahh for her help on this chapter! It's shorter, sorry :(**

**Chapter 6.**

"I hate subways."

Carina, Chuck and Susan were huddled together heading towards the next stop, their sports bags full of weapons knocking against each other slightly as the underground train shot through the tunnels and the passengers were thrown around a little. Carina was currently squished up against the door and Chuck.

"Carina, what don't you hate?" Chuck asked, rolling his eyes, nervousness and the pre mission jitters filling his body as he felt the train beginning to slow down. Placing his hand in his pocked he dialled a code into the device that had once belonged to his father. In a minute, every camera in their vicinity would go down.

"Sex, cocktails, sun, sea, beaches." Carina told him, "On a hot desert island away from everything."

"Point taken." Chuck muttered, "Well you're not the only one who needs a long holiday after this."

The train stopped and the three of the blended into the traffic coming off the train and headed towards a service door that they'd seen on the plans from earlier. Using a code breaker they unlocked the door and headed through, undetected.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"Look at this." Mary pulled up a screen shot.

"What is it?" Sarah asked, looking at the three figures.

"The cameras surrounding the subway entrance went down a few seconds ago, I back tracked where the train came from and look who's getting on." Mary smiled at this.

"Chuck..." Sarah whispered, she'd know his face anywhere, "But I thought you didn't send the message yet...?"

"I haven't." Mary told her.

"Send him one now then," Sarah smiled, "With where we are, by the time your computer shuts down they'll have bigger things to worry about."

"Good point." Mary nodded, pulling up the program and typing in the number they'd got for the phone, "What do we say?"

"Chuck, third floor, second room." Sarah said, thinking of the many things she could say to convince him it was really her sending the text and not a trap.

Just as Sarah was about to say something, an explosion rocked the building.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"So much for an undetected entrance!" Carina shouted over the noise of destruction, as she stepped through the large door they'd just had to blow off its hinges to get through.

"This is much more dramatic." Chuck grinned, pulling out his gun.

Today was not a day of tranq guns.

"If you don't want to kill them aim for their legs." Carina muttered as if she'd read his mind.

"If these are the people who've had Sarah and my mother then I won't be aiming for their legs." Chuck growled.

"Don't lose yourself." Carina replied.

They headed down the corridor and took the corner, quickly diving for cover. The first line of resistance had arrived. Heavily armed.

The fight had started.

Chuck picked them off the flies, his intersect turning him into the dream agent every agency wanted working for them while Carina took down an equal amount with Susan helping out with numbers. They pressed forward. Moving further into the building that resembled the CIA facilities that were placed in all city centres.

"Chuck!"

Chuck's head whipped around to where Carina had called out. She tossed him the phone they'd taken from Edwards with an open message, "It could be a trap."

"'Third floor' It's not exactly descript." Chuck started before catching a link at the bottom of the message and clicking it.

Feeling Good began to play.

"What the hell?" Carina asked curiously, looking at the phone in confusion.

"It's our song, it's not a trap." Chuck called, "Come on!" He called, leading the group away.

"Shit!" Chuck shouted as they were met with more guards. How big of an army did this place have? A bullet buried itself an inch away from where Carina had been stood and anger flared through Chuck once more. He was not loosing anyone else.

Ever again.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The door banged open and Jake came running in. Jake, the guard who showed them compassion. Jake, the young man with responsibilities past his age. Jake, who was carrying an extra gun.

"Come on!" He called, urging them to get up, "This is the only chance you're ever going to get."

"What...?" Sarah looking in confusion, still not moving.

"Move!" He said, passing her the gun, "How's your shoulder?" He asked as he practically dragged them out the room.

"Fine." Sarah replied shortly, following Jake down the corridor and towards the stairs on the other side.

"You don't look fine." He muttered, "Hold on." He stopped and moved towards Sarah, "Let me take a look."

"What? No." Sarah protested.

"For god's sake, the building's being attacked, it's not an excuse to check you out!" Jake rolled his eyes, "I want to see how bad it is."

Sarah reluctantly let him look at the wound. He was muttering to himself as he took in the inflamed skin and the blood that was oozing, granted much more slowly than at first, from her shoulder.

"OK, try not and aggravate it much more." Jake told her.

"Jake?" Two guards ran up to them, they'd been there for as long as Sarah could remember, never afraid to do the group's dirty work, "What are you doing?"

"Taking them back to their room." Jake lied quickly.

"We were told to leave them where they were." He was eyeing Jake suspiciously when the other caught sight of it.

The gun in Sarah's hand.

"She's got a gun" One of the exclaimed.

Sarah reacted with instinct, something she's long thought she'd lost as she pulled the trigger twice, dropping the two guards instantly. The recoil from the gun was much stronger and more painful than she could remember, the noise louder and the object heavier. Small things that she'd forgotten. Yet the technique that had been drilled into her brain for hours on end before being used to save her life on numerous occasions remained intact. Her shot still had a reasonable degree of accuracy while her whole arm throbbed from the motion.

"I think that counts as aggravating it." Mary muttered.

"Come on!" Jake insisted, leading them away from the two dead bodies.

"How do you plan on getting out?" Mary asked in an urgent tone as she heard gunfire from the floors below.

"We join the fight, it's our only chance." Jake told them, "Whoever's attacking has to come up the stairs, in the event of something like this, the elevators are shut down."

"Where's the nearest stairs?" Sarah asked, pain beginning to show through her voice and ragged breathing.

"Not far, at the end on the corridor." Jake told them, peering around the corner to see what looked to be the whole of The Fornax groups defence guarding the stairs from both direction.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Chuck, Carina and Susan made it to the stairs barely, leaving a trail of dead or unconscious guards and agents behind them.

"Are you ok?" Chuck asked Carina, who'd had a bullet slice by her arm, mearing cutting it, missing impact by millimetres.

"I'm fine." She insisted as she paused for breath, "Whether the text was a trap of not, you know the whole of this places' small army's going to be waiting for us on the third floor."

"I know." Chuck muttered.

Gunshots began to ring out from two floors above them.

"A diversion, perfect." Carina muttered, sprinting up two flights of stairs, "Ready?" She asked, looking as Chuck pulled out both a stun and smoke grenade, preparing them while Carina sent a text.

'Back up.'

"Go." Chuck nodded, allowing Carina to open the door while he rolled the grenades into the mass of guards. The flattened themselves against the wall as the went off before diving into the mix. The guards had turned, focusing on the figures that had been at the opposite end before the explosions had hit, rendering them in a state of complete confusion. Chuck used this to use hand to hand combat to take them down.

Guns were too risky.

Something hit Chuck hard around the face and he stumbled. Quickly flashing and engaging the attacker in combat, taking the down quickly. One by one Chuck expertly took down the guards in his path.

The smoke had been a good idea.

She was thinking this as she used the stolen knife from the guard to take down another one. She recognised him; he'd been one of the ones that had helped interrogate her in her first weeks in the facility. She was unnerved at the fact she felt a sick sort of pleasure in the fact. Her wound was punishment enough. With every movement the open hole was protesting fiercely. It was hard to defend herself, while she remembered the motions that had saved her life on numerous occasions, she lacked the power to block and punch that she'd once had. Her blocks hurt and were mainly ineffective while her punches caused no damage. Shooting was easier but impossible in the smoke; she could hit Jake or Mary.

Or Chuck.

Chuck. Her Chuck was possibly metres away from her, fighting to free her. Did he know she was so close?

Instinct that had taken a lifetime to perfect told her to duck.

The bullet whizzed over her head and into the wall behind her as she tossed the knife at the offending guard. Watching him crumble instantly, the knife protruding out of his burly neck. She wasted no time pulling it out.

It was her only defence.

The smoke was beginning to thin while the effects of the flashbang were wearing off. She could see Mary take down on e of the men she knew was an agent for the group and felt a sense of pride. Her eyes searched for Jake, the young guard that had showed them kindness. He was slumped against a wall.

It was too like the position Bryce had been in and for a second his face had been replaced by Bryce's.

"Jake." She hurried over, and helped him sit further up.

"I'm fine." He muttered, pressing down to a wound on his side, "It's gone straight through, nothing major."

"There's a lot of blood." She told him, "Keep pressure on it."

"You're supposed to be not aggravating yours." Jake shot back, looking at Sarah's t-shirt that was almost completely stained by her own blood.

"Well that didn't work very long." Sarah muttered.

"Look out!" Jake shouted, as Sarah turned to be knocked over by a kick to the head.

Pain engulfed Sarah while spots filled her vision as she reeled from the kick, rolling over so she was on her back. She'd leant long ago that you never roll onto your stomach and show your back to the attacker. Instead she kicked out with her legs, trying, in vain to fend the larger man off. She knew him, he was another agent for the company. A good agent.

The smoke was clearing

Chuck quickly dropped the closest man and saw him. He was stood over someone, his gun out and trained on the person lying on the ground.

The woman.

Blood was pumping through his ears. Fury pulsed through his veins.

The air seemed to have chilled as everything was moving at a slower pace.

A shot rang out.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

**:O**

**I know I'm leaving it at a very mean place!  
Sorry, don't kill me! **

**Please review :)**

**Slight bad news, it's field trip time (yay for me!) I'm going to the middle of nowhere to study ecology! Funfunfun :D but it means I'll be computerless and therefore may not have an update by Sunday :(**

**I will try my hardest guys but...**

**Anyways :)**

**Remember my lovely maths equation,**

**Reviews = Happy Crispy :D = more inspiration = FASTER WRITING! **

**Hehe, I'm a mathematical GENIUS! **

**Well, not really but I try.**

**Rambling over,**

**Your turn...**

**REVIEW! (pretty please ?**


	8. Chapter 7

**Last chapter, excluding the epilogue!**

**Excited? :P**

**Remember to review please :)**

**Chapter 7.**

_A shot rang out..._

__Something slammed into Sarah.

Her breath left her.

Blood pooled around her, quick and fast from the open wound.

She could her shouting from what seemed to be a long way away.

Familiar voices.

Darkness was threatening to engulf her.

She let it.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"Sarah!" Carina sprinted over and pulled the dear body of the man off her. She was unconscious but breathing. If just by a small amount.

"She's been shot, it looks like an old wound." She called the Chuck was running over, "She's lost loads of blood though, she can't be far off hypovolemia."

"It was about two hours ago." Mary supplied and Chuck stopped. He knew that voice. It had been absent from his life for so long but he'd know it anywhere. "Hello Charles."

Chuck's attention snapped from Sarah to the figure stood a few metres in front of him. The smoke and wreckage had previously hid her. But now he could see her perfectly. She'd aged too much in the time they'd been apart. The years hadn't been too kind on her but she was there. Alive. He closed the gap between them and enclosed his mother in a hug. Something he'd longed to do for so many years.

"God I've missed you so much." She whispered, placing one hand on the back of his head like she'd done when he was a child.

"Me too." Chuck's voice was soft, unbelieving that he was stood hugging his mother.

"Well, as touching as this is..." The voice came from the end of the corridor and their attention was turned to a man, flanked by seven others. All of whom had a gun trained on their group, "I believe we need to talk." He directed this at Chuck.

"Really?" Chuck asked coldly, turning to face the man that had hurt people he loved.

"Chuck, we need to get her to a hospital." Carina had ignored the man and was instead checking over Sarah's wounds.

"What do you want?" Chuck asked as he walked over to Carina and Sarah, squatting down and taking one of Sarah's hands in his own.

Her pulse was faded and slow, he could barely feel it.

His hand shook a little in fear.

He couldn't lose her now. After everything.

"I want you to work for me." David smiled, as if this was a reasonable request.

"And why would I do that?" Chuck asked, this time his own fingers interlinked with Sarah's, holding her as close as he could in that moment without scooping her into his arms and protecting her from whatever may come.

"I have not only your new partner, but your mother. I presume you like them breathing." He shot back coolly, "As for your girlfriend, well, it doesn't look as if she's going to last too much long."

"And you think I'd work for the people responsible?" Chuck all but spat at him.

"My previous point still stands." David shrugged, "You can work for me, and your partner, mother and your mothers friend will get to live. Maybe we'll let them live a semi normal life or you can refuse my offer, in which case, well, you all die."

He saw it out of the corner of his eye.

"Or you know, we could just shoot you." Chuck shrugged.

"You?" David asked, as if he was mocking them, he then followed Chuck's gaze.

He whipped around, shots ringing out from the end of his gun as his men followed suit.

"No, me." Casey and his men barrelled into the fight while Chuck shielded Sarah from any further damage. Shots were firing everywhere but it was quick. In the open space there wasn't any cover so the shots fired were accurate. Casey and his men were wearing protection and easily took down all of David's men, leaving him to be cuffed and dragged out by them.

"There's a chopper on the roof." Casey told them, "It'll take us to the nearest hospital."

"Thank you." Chuck lifted Sarah with ease into his arms as they set off upwards, onto the helipad on the roof.

Away from the building that held so many terrifying memories.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

At first it was a blur. A mess of sounds, jumbled together that she was unable to clear up. She kept her eyes closed, afraid of what she might find. Beeping. There was a definite beeping. Different rhythms and pitches. One louder and closer. It was in time with her heartbeat. A hospital. She was in a hospital. Relief flooded her. Hospitals were crowded. Hospitals had people.

Her memories came back to her as a voice was breaking through the jumble.

"How's she doing Doc?" She'd know it anywhere, he was here. Finally.

"I think she's waking up." This voice was new, and closer.

She let her eyes flicker open groggily.

The man was blocking her view of him. The one person she wanted to see more than anyone else in the world. He checked her eye responses before handing her a glass of water to sip.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Sarah Walker." She answered, for that was who she'd become. It may not have been the name she'd been born with, but it was who she was.

"And what year is it?"

"2011." She told him, her voice was hoarse and sore. Her shoulder was on fire. But he was in the room.

"Ok, everything looks good for now, I'd just advise you to take it easy from here. I'll be back to see you later." He moved to the side.

He came into view.

A real life version of Chuck. A talking, breathing, moving version.

"Hey." She whispered, at a loss for words.

He laughed quietly, "Hey yourself." He took a few tentative steps towards the bed, "How are you feeling?"

"Honestly?" She asked, closing her eyes, "Like crap." She whispered.

"I'm sorry." Chuck blurted out, "For everything. For taking a year to even realise you were still alive before I came to rescue you. All this time you were stuck with these people and I didn't even realise!" Chuck was now pacing across the room as he spoke, wringing his hands with nerves, "It's my fault this happened. You were shot because of me."

"No." Sarah shook her head softly, "It's not your fault."

"How is it not?" Chuck asked, pain showing on his face as he turned to Sarah, walking towards her and sitting down on the edge of the bed, careful not to jostle, touch her.

"I'm the spy. I'm the one who was trained for years to stop myself getting in these situations. I'm the one who dug too deep." Sarah smiled softly a Chuck, "You can touch me you know."

"What?" Chuck asked.

"You're perched on the edge of the bed. For a year all I've wanted for a year was for you to just hold me." Sarah let a tear roll down her cheek.

Chuck reached forward with one hand, ignoring as it shook slightly before he rested it on her check, moving in closer so he could lean forward and rest his head on her forehead. Gently he moved even closer so their lips were millimetres apart. Slowly, cautiously, he closed the distance, placing a kiss full of longing and sadness, of love and hope, of everything he'd missed over the last year on her lips. She raised her good arm and wrapped it around his neck to pull him closer.

Tears rolled down each of their cheeks.

"I missed you so much." Sarah sobbed, pulling away and resting her forehead on his shoulder, shielding her tears from his view.

Chuck lifted up her chin, gently wiping away her tears with his thumb, "It's never going to happen again. You're here with me, and that's how it's going to stay. I can't cope with losing you again."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

**Short, Cheesy, a little predictable but hey! It's a chapter.**

**My field trip was amazing, very very rainy, but amazing!**

**Here marks the end of this story, mostly...There shall be an epilogue!**

**Please please please review! **


	9. Epilogue

**Sorry about the wait, you will not believe how much stuff I've got on my plate right now! But hey, I love the new chuck, what about you? **

**So here's the final chapter, it's been a blast, thanks to everyone who's reviews THANK YOU! Please tell me what you think of the story and this chap, a little inappropriate after the end of the last ep but hey, it's AU! It's a bit on the short side, well...a lot, but... :-)**

**Epilogue.**

The yell startled people.

"MOVE!"

Heart pumping, adrenaline rushing.

Bare feet hit the ground at a quick pace.

Ellie's voice parted the group of people as they glimpsed a vision in deep teal before it shot past them.

"Dude!" Jeff muttered in shock.

"I know..." Lester nodded, still in awe at the speed the elder Bartowski was travelling.

"Coming through!" Ellie's voice carried back to the group of Buy More employers that were stalking outside of Chuck's apartment.

"We better go guys." Big Mike told them, the voice of reason among all the madness.

Ellie burst through the doors, screeching to a halt as she realised a gun was in her face.

"Jesus! Never burst into a room of spies!" Carina muttered, lowering her weapon and stashing it in her small clutch bag.

"Ex-spy in my case." Sarah muttered from the chair she was pinned in by Carina, who was currently working on some soft eye makeup.

"Yeah yeah." Ellie rolled her eyes, as she handed over the two silver hair clips, "Something borrowed."

"Something blue." Carina flicked a blue garter at Sarah.

"Chuck bought you those earrings so that's something new." Ellie grinned.

"And here's something old." Jack Burton strolled into the room, Carina whipped around again, muttering under her breath, "It was your mothers."

He handed her a ring, small and simple that fitter perfectly onto her right ring finger, "Hey sweetheart." He moved forwards to hug her.

"What are you doing here?" Sarah asked, looking around, "You'll be arrested."

"My daughter, my only daughter, is getting married, what do you think I'm doing here? I'm going to walk you down the aisle." He told Sarah seriously.

"Dad..." Sarah trailed off.

He'd never been there. And now he was. She'd been an idiot not to take advantage of it while it lasted as she knew that if he wasn't arrested he'd simply disappear again. Then again it was only Carina and Casey who was here that had the power to arrest him and she knew they'd turn a blind eye. For her.

"Ready?" Ellie asked.

"Always." Sarah smiled.

She wasn't nervous. She wanted Chuck more than anything else in the world. She'd always wanted him and to actually get married to him was the most amazing thing she could ever ask for.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"You ok?" Morgan asked, fidgeting with his collar, "Thanks for the whole, no tie thing."

"I'm great. I'm getting married." Chuck grinned, smoothing down his lapels.

"Assuming Walker doesn't bolt." Casey grunted.

"Dude!" Devon exclaimed with exasperation.

"She's not going to bolt." Chuck grinned, "I know it."

"Come on then, Ellie just text me, they're a few minutes out." Devon smiled as they left the tent that had been constructed on Chuck and Sarah's stretch of beach where the men were changing.

Outside were a few chairs where the filled with their guests. At the front was a beautiful alter with purple and white orchids tied on with teal ribbons. The minister was stood at the front as Chuck, Morgan, Casey and Devon walked up to the front. The whole wedding was very informal, open necked collars on the men while the women's dresses were all summery and flowing. A guitar ensemble was getting ready to play a soft melody for Sarah to walk down the aisle to.

"This really does sum it up Bartowski, you have more groomsmen that Walker has bridesmaids." Casey muttered teasingly.

"Rings?" Chuck asked, ignoring Casey and turning to Morgan.

"Alex made sure I had them." Morgan grinned triumphantly as he pulled out the box that contained the wedding rings. He turned to the front row where Alex was sat next to Mary Bartowski, smiling at something the other had said, little Steven sat on his grandmothers lap, clapping his hands with excitement.

A car pulled up.

Ellie and Carina came around the corner and walked gracefully towards the front, two visions in teal, their dresses moving slightly in the soft breeze. They both looked stunning, the dresses stopping just above their knees, showing off their perfectly toned lower legs as they walked barefoot through the sand. It had been decided that heels wouldn't have been a good idea. The music stared.

Chuck's breathing slowed at he saw Sarah emerge from around the corner, walking towards him, confidence and joy, her dad linking arms with her. She was perfect. Everything about her was perfect. The lose tendrils of hair that fell in waves to frames her face, the soft make up. The way she smiled. The happiness in her eyes. She had a slightly shy smile on her face as she walked towards him, like she was afraid she'd ruin the pictures if her grin was too big. Chucks smile however could rival a Cheshire cat's who'd just scooped up all the milk.

"You're one lucky man." Morgan whispered into Chuck's ear as Sarah drew closer.

"Believe me, I know." Chuck grinned.

"Take care of her." Jack told Chuck as they reached them, shaking his hand, "I love you." He kissed Sarah's cheek before sitting in the empty chair.

"Ready?" Chuck grinned.

"Always." Sarah squeezed his hands gently.

"Welcome, we are gathered here today...

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Laughter, music, happy voices.

The noises filled the air as people mulled around the apartment complex that had now seen two Bartowski weddings. It was also theirs. Casey still had his apartment, Chuck and Sarah were in the original, Devon and Ellie in the duplex across the courtyard, and the most recent purchase was the last one that Morgan and Alex had bought after she's been given a position in the LA branch of the FBI. That meant the Morgan would be closed to help more with his and Chuck's software company that was doing really well. Sarah was now teaching languages at UCLA after officially quitting the CIA a few months ago while Casey still worked on assignments for the NSA, occasionally partnering with Carina which were always...explosive.

"You'll take care of her right?" Chuck turned to find Jack Burton stood behind him.

"Yes." Chuck nodded seriously, looking over to where Sarah was stood, laughing with Ellie, Alex, Mary, Susan and Carina.

"Because I can find you, if anything happens and my daughter learnt to throw knives from me." He said seriously.

"Have you said goodbye?" Chuck asked.

"It makes it harder." He said shortly. "Look after her."

With that he had disappeared into the crowd in a link of an eye.

"So where are you guys honeymooning?" The question pulled Chuck from his reverie.

"South Africa." Chuck smiled, "I sort of got Sarah hooked on the Lion King so there's all the Safaris plus beach stuff and everything."

"Speech!" Someone was yelling.

Others joined in until Chuck was pushed into the middle and told to stand on the edge of the fountain, "Hi." He smiled brightly at everyone, "Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone for coming and making this such a memorable day, to Ellie and Carina for being amazing bridesmaids and Morgan, Devon and Casey for putting up with my constant...well for putting up with me. But mostly, to Sarah for actually marrying me, I still can't believe it!" People laughed at this, "Seriously though, you are amazing, and I don't know what I did to deserve you but I'm so happy I found you because you complete me. As cheesy as it sounds, you make me a better man, the person that I want to be." A couple of people awed, "I'm lost without you and I never want to be lost again. So thank you, for putting up with all my weird habits and middle of the night COD marathons with Morgan. For being this amazing person whose shared their heart and their world with me. I love you. So much that three words simply isn't enough to describe how much." He hopped off the fountain and sort of jog/walked over to Sarah.

"I love you too." She grinned, slightly embarrassed by his speech as they kissed gently.

Devon and Morgan whooped and wolf whistled while others cheered.

"Time to throw the bouquet." Ellie grinned, getting the entire group of woman to group up behind Sarah.

"You get me and I swear to god I'll kill you." Carina muttered as Ellie herded her into the group.

"Oh, I'd love to see that." Sarah grinned, turning away, "Here goes..!"

The flowers glided through the air, heading straight to the back of the group where Carina and Alex were stood and falling gracefully into the younger woman's arms.

Casey growled.

"Help." Morgan whispered.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

**FINISHED!**

**THE END!**

**CAPISH!**

**:( It's over...:'(**

**However you can still review and tell me what you thought...PLEASE!**

**It's been a pleasure writing for you.**


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